jacquet

My time at Pattaya at an end, I made a two day stop in Bangkok before heading back to the airport.
 
Staying at the Raya, I decided to go and and see Hua Lamphong station before it closes next year. On the way via Sam Yan, I passed by a massage shop called Magic Hands. Very out of the way, but a quick google search suggested that was an M2M place so I thought I'd try it on the way back. When I arrived back there, I found the place deserted. All set up and ready to go, with music playing etc, I wandered right through the place freely. After waiting 10 minutes or so, I decided to head for a coffee instead. Whilst in the cafe, I happened to notice that another forum member was asking about the same massage place. I decided I would go back a little later, and this time, there was just one guy there who happily took my money and led me upstairs. Not especially good looking, but it emerged during the massage that he had a cock to die for, and in all respects it was a very good experience; I will definitely return again on a subsequent visit.
 
The next day, transferring for the afternoon to the Malaysia hotel, I went out for one final massage. I was aiming for Sanctuary Spa by A, but decided if I saw someone I liked at an alternative on the way, I would do that. I passed Magic Touch, but no one took my fancy. In fact there were a few guys smoking outside which was quite off-putting. No-one around in either of the other shops along the way, so Sanctuary Spa it was.
 
However, despite being the most expensive massage this holiday. It was a total disappointment. Massage was borderline ok but the guy wouldn't remove any clothes and didn't really know how to keep things flowing. I didn't even cum! I won't be going there again.
 
On my way back. I passed by one of the massage shops that was deserted earlier, only to find quite an attractive guy calling out to me as I went past. Damn, why wasn't he there earlier? Too late as the airport beckoned.
 
So a slightly disappointing end to my trip, but overall I can't complain. I have had another fantastic time.
 
Hope you enjoyed reading!

You made your point, it's creepy and ridiculous.  But here no one is Emperor, the silly playing with water is not Mozart's "Figaro", and the joyful faces of the boys deserve to be seen in all detail.  So hopefully that was your last blurring, and you return to your artistic freedom of expression.

The forum concentrates on Bangkok and Pattaya but I thought I'd share my time recently at Patong in Phuket.
 
This report comes after 11 nights in Laos which I've reported on in the Asia forum:
 
http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic/10936-trip-report-11-nights-in-laos/
 
After my trip to Laos, I headed off to Phuket and specifically Patong. It's a couple of years since I've been here, having spent most of my holiday time latterly in Bangkok and Pattaya on trips. On my first visit I had nothing to compare it to, so it was interesting to see again.
 
My thoughts are that I greatly favour Phuket. From a scenic point of view, it's great. From a nightlife point of view, the scene is much smaller but very friendly and laid back. I can definitely see myself spending more time here.
 
I arrived quite late on a Friday night, and after a quick shower, went out to see what's changed in the Paradise centre.
 
My first encounter was less than 2 metres from the door of my guesthouse. A somewhat chubby masseur who basically barred my way insisting that he massage me. I started out trying to be jovial about it but eventually it got annoying. I made a mental note to try and avoid going past him again, however after a couple of days, he seemed content to just glare at me.
 
However it's an interesting feature of the massage places in the Paradise centre that the boys are much more interested than elsewhere in persuading you to come for a massage (as apart from looking bored and glued to their phones), the one exception being Blue Dolphin. Most are pretty cute and very friendly and happy to engage you in conversation, even if you're not up for a massage at the time. I like this because, even if it's an illusion, the sense of being seduced into having a session starts things off very well.
 
On my first evening, I decided to just have a foot massage, and went to Siam Massage. They don't have chairs there so foot massage is done lying down, and I removed my shorts as requested to avoid getting the balm on them.
 
It was a nice gentle massage, but as the guy began to massage into my groin, it was abundantly clear that my underwear was under a certain amount of pressure. He began to tease me with gentle strokes working me into a state of considerable anticipation, before setting my hard cock free of its confines and replacing his hands with his warm tongue and inviting lips. All around me too, I could hear the sounds of other customers in various states of ecstasy.
 
As he continued to give a blowjob of epic quality, I signalled I would like him to wear fewer clothes and so very deftly he divested himself of his t shirt, jeans and boxers.
 
We lay naked, kissed, sucked each other, and eventually brought each other to a natural sticky end.
 
So that was a good start.
 
The second day, I indulged in a two hour oil massage at C&N. I remembered this place from before, as being somewhere that offers excellent quality no nonsense massage. And so it proved with a first rate masseur who I would return to a couple of times before the end of my holiday.
 
In the evening, I went to James Dean bar. It's a quiet bar at the beginning the soi into Paradise, where I had offed a boy several nights on my previous visit. This time, he had gone home early for Songkran but I spent the evening drinking with the manager.
 
After that I headed round to Heaven, a small bar near the dolphin fountain. I bought the guys a drink and sat next to a very affectionate guy and it was not long before we decided to spend the night together.
 
The third day I pottered around in the morning dodging in and out of the rain. In the afternoon, I headed up to the Aquarius rooftop. It's quite nice up there especially if there's a gentle breeze. While I was there, a dark skinned Thai guy arrived, whipped off his towel, and proceeded to whip up his cock to quite a considerable size.
 
It was quite a joy to behold, and he seemed quite restless, constantly getting up and finding a reason to walk around with his hard, long and fat cock for all to see. Whilst it was impressive, it wasn't attached to someone particularly felt I wanted to indulge with, so I never found out if he was a money boy or not.
 
Later i popped into one of the Gogo bars, My Way, to see the show. Decided these aren't really my thing, but there were around 30 boys available most of whom were easy on the eye.
 
One afternoon, I'd come back from time on the beach, and was on Grindr when I was contacted by a guy who works at the guesthouse at which I'm staying. Next thing I know he's outside my door. I let him, me dressed only in a tenting towel, and we enjoyed a moment of intimacy as he closed the curtains and removed his clothes...
 
An oil massage at Siam Massage followed. Quite a good massage by all accounts. Masseur only wearing shorts to start with swiftly removed towards the end. I like that place but will try others later.
 
Each time i went to C&N I asked for the same masseur as he was very good. It's funny how some guys can massage you and have you in a state of arousal without even touching the goods, and others can do all sorts of intimate touches with no response (as least that's my experience, perhaps others are more ready at the trigger on all occasions!). Chemistry is an interesting thing and with this guy things clicked. By the third session i had with him, he gave me a nice long penis massage. Absolutely awesome.
 
I dropped into Kai boy bar one evening. Guy who sat with me not really my type, but he was good to talk to and practise my Thai with. He was so desperate to give me a massage that i finally conceded and agreed to a foot massage. I was shown up to to a depressing and somewhat smelly room (like a teenager's bedroom). As far as it goes it was fine. I really didn't want to indulge in any sexual activity but i allowed him to have a wank whilst he sucked my cock.
 
I returned to Heaven bar for the final evening and reacquainted myself with the guy I'd offed previously.
 
Both Grindr and Hornet were pretty active here with quite a few attractive guys interested.
 
So i like Phuket and think i will split my time between Pattaya and here for the next few trips.

LOL you guys, and those who PMed me about continuing the report, it really has to wait. I just came back from Mexico and in a few days jetting off to Thailand. If the Songkran week is eventful then I will probably write about it. But I probably won't be offing anyone and will have my hands full with BurBoy, so it might be even less interesting to the people here who (rightfully) expect more sexually stimulating reports.

Sorry for the whiplash guys, but since newbie member Mark311088 was asking about Arena in his first post so I thought I'd post the next day of the Trip Report, which was after the Celebrity club visit:
 
Day 11: Playing with Fire #2: Sneaking in an Arena
 
Just some notes from last night at Celebrity Club. Our bill was 1850 baht, for the bottle of whiskey, mixers and some food. I took out 1000 baht, and 45, the older boyfriend of 21, paid the rest, including tip for our great waiter. We left around 3 AM, and 45 was telling me he was going to be tired tomorrow at work. I wished 21 and 45 well, and BurBoy and I bid them farewell. I am glad that clubs like Celebrity and Fake are there if one wants an alternative to gay entertainment from Soi Twilight or Soi 4.
 
And FYI, this was the Facebook listing for last night’s activities. It shows the names of the singers from last night, and the prices of the drinks, as well as the promotion they had if you got there early. This was translated from Thai to English by Facebook, so the text is atrocious:
 

 
Judging from the lack of English description in their Facebook Page, I am guessing Celebrity Club is still just marketed for Thais. It was a lot of fun though, and I am planning to come back this April, especially if they had Songkran-specific parties, like the foam party they had last year. And from a supposedly slow night last night, it was packed, so it remains popular, and most probably immune to the ebb and flow of high and low tourist seasons, since their main customer base is local.
 
BurBoy got us a taxi and we got home around 3 AM. BurBoy insisted that we go by the 7-11 next to the condo building. We get a variety of frozen rice dishes, some chocolate and waters for the room. BurBoy tells me more about 21 and how he met him and his upcoming monk ordination. He also told me about the dynamic between 21 and 45. Very interesting friends. I will be meeting more of his friends in the coming days. We shower before bed, of course, and then sleep away our drunkenness.
 
BurBoy wakes me up. I look at the clock and it was 10 AM. “I need go embassy na!” BurBoy tells me. I forgot about that. He goes to the bathroom and turns on the shower to heat the water. He pops his head out of the bathroom and tells me “Quick na!” I laugh and go to the bathroom to pee first and then join him in the shower. He had a mission today, and wild horses can’t keep him from getting to the embassy before 2 PM. We get dressed (both shorts and t-shirt) and off we went.
 
On the way he asks me “Breakfast now?” I ask back if he wanted to go to the embassy first and then eat later. “No, eat now. I hungry.” I guess hunger still trumped the wish to get a passport. We look around and see a nice restaurant called Little Home by the Chong Nonsi BTS station. It was #3,907 out of 9,483 Bangkok restaurants on TripAdvisor, so it middle of the pack with the reviewers. At 11 the restaurant was almost empty, on a Wednesday late morning in between the breakfast and lunch crowds. The menu looks interesting, and had extensive English language descriptions, so this must be a favorite among tourists:
 

 

 
BurBoy gets a bacon breakfast sandwich and I get the breakfast plate with pancakes and croissants. No iced coffee sadly:
 

 

 
The food was standard but satisfactory. And cheap too, I only paid 413 baht. BurBoy puts a 20 baht tip with my cash payment, and we were on our way to the embassy. On our walk I tell BurBoy that I will not be waiting on him at the embassy, and instead I will get some money changed and also a massage. He was OK with this, and we decide to part ways on Sathorn Road.
 
I didn’t manufacture this alone time, but I certainly wanted to take advantage of it. I did tell him I was getting a massage, but I wasn’t specific with BurBoy. This was my chance to check out a massage place to further along my massage experience. Arena was just up the road on Silom from where I was, and it was almost 12 noon. I check the Arena Massage Facebook page and see that their hours are 12 noon to 11 pm, so I can check out if there were boys up early.
 
I head over to the direction of Silom Rd and headed over to Silom Plaza. The first time I checked out Arena, which was in 2015, I wasn’t sure if it was actually at Silom Plaza. I knew it was on the 3rd Floor but unsure where it was once I was there. No obvious signage, no blinking neon sign, just a non-descript door to the massage place. Right now thankfully I knew where I was going. When I got to the elevators at the back, I waited a little bit, sitting on the bench that was close to the elevators, to see if BurBoy was going to Line me, as well as to kill some time so as to not be too early for opening.
 
BurBoy was not Lining so I just played with my phone. I see an Asian guy in his 30s take the elevators. I am assuming he was going to the same place. I wait for 5 more minutes (letting the guy make his pick of the boys), and then I take the elevator to the 3rd floor. I head over to the door to enter the massage place. I open the door and see about 10 guys laying around the couch, or working out in the equipment to the left, or standing around and talking. They see me and immediately present themselves to me. One of the guys goes to me and sits me down the couch.
 
He then calls on the “captain”, who goes over to me and hands me a laminated(?) sheet with their treatments and prices. I found this one their Facebook, and I would imagine what I read was something similar:
 

 
I didn’t know how much time I had before BurBoy was done with the Myanmar Embassy, so I made it simple: I chose a one-hour oil massage. The captain then calls on the boys to line up, and asks me to choose a boy. I always find this a little bit awkward to do. How do I choose the right kind of boy? Do I use the time-tested criteria of choosing the guy who smiles at me? At least half of them were. So I look at the faces. Two-thirds were what I would consider handsome. That cut it down to 6. Now I get really superficial. I look at the abs. Three boys had unbelievable abs. Ugh, so it was down to them. Now it’s time to just use my gut.
 
I see this one guy. Classic Thai good looks, nice smile, out of this world abs and muscular arms supported by a lean-muscular frame, and cute facial hair. The darker skin was what made it for me, so I pick him. Its funny that I chose someone solely based on looks, and not massage ability, though I guess this skill is harder to gauge until after you get the massage. He disappears in the back and then reappears with some oil and towels. He motions me to take the stairs to our massage room.
 
He escorts me to the room. It was fairly spartan, with few to no décor, a massage table in the center, and a shower at the other end of the room. He asks me to shower first, so I disrobe, carefully folding my clothes on the side table right next to the shower, and get in the makeshift shower. There was a heater with the shower thank goodness, and I use the liquid soap provided. The massage guy leaves for a moment while I shower, but got back before I finished showering. He hands me the towel on the side table, and I dry my body.
 
He motions for me to lie on the massage table. It wasn’t one of those massage tables with a hole to rest your face on, but this bed looked more hygienic than the one I was on in Mandalay. The lighting was perfect, just dim enough to make the ambiance sensual, but bright enough that you can see the amazing body of the guy. He immediately disrobes, and I see his huge uncut cock swinging freely. This was going to be good.
 
What follows is a great massage. It was so relaxing, and he was very good. I almost forgot that I was with a hot guy I am supposedly need to lust after. I had my eyes closed most of the time, enjoying the massage. At some point I felt a soft thing rest on the palm on my hand. I open my eyes and see that he was resting his cock on my palm. I squeeze it and he cracks a smile, but he didn’t skip a beat with massaging my back. At some point he sits on my butt, while he massages my back with pressure. I can feel his cock rest on my back. This was amazing.
 
He asks me to turn around. He massages me for a while till he focused on my cock. It was hard right away because of the attention. I grab his cock and made it hard. That was an impressive sight to see. He strokes my cock, my balls, grazes my hole, and teases my thighs and tummy. It didn’t take much, I cum like a gusher. He was really good.
 
I laugh and tell him he gave me a really good massage. He thanks me and I sit up. He motions me to shower again, this time he joins me. He gives me a soap down, and was very thorough with soaping up all the oil off, including the nooks and crannies. He soaped himself up as well. When we both rinsed off, he toweled me dry. He was a full service guy. We both put back on clothes (me with my t-shirt, undies and shorts, him with just his tight pants, as he was shirtless), and then talk for a bit.
 
He asks me the usual things, and then tells me that if I wanted him to massage me at my condo, and stay over for long time, he was available. I put my hands around his waist and pull him clothes. He was so handsome. His smile was great. I asked him how old he was, he said 30. I would’ve guessed a little older, but I didn’t care. We hug, he kisses my cheek. Then he gives me a light kiss in the lips. That was nice. I reach into my pocket and give him 1200 baht. He wais in thanks. He takes his phone and puts up Line and asks me to put in my Line ID. I do and he sends me a message.
 
I look at my phone and there was about 10 messages from BurBoy. Was he looking for me? Was he worried?
 
…

Day 89 to 95: Los Tres Hombres (A.K.A. My Mexican Boy Distractions)
 
One has to fill the time between Thailand trips of course. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to be in Thailand all the time. If you’re like me though, the search never stops, even if I am in my home country. Sure, the search for boys slows down when I am with my BF, but in the few times I have alone time, or on work travel around the country, I take every chance I get to look for distractions. When I do have the time, I fire up Grindr (my gay app of choice when in the US), and check it out from time to time.
 
Hombre Numero Uno: The American Boy
 
I usually have some random conversations with boys and men on Grindr when I check it out, wherever I am. I am not always on there for sex. Sometimes I just open the app to see what choices one has in the area I am in, or if I am in a gay bar, how many boys are 0 feet away from me. Ninety percent of the time I am on Grindr, usually I am just bored, and a few flirty sentences with profiles with cute photos sometimes is all I need on most days.
 
I’ve been talking to this 20-year-old latino boy, who lived close to my home, for about 3 months now, off and on. Our first conversation was great, lengthy and interesting, but the subsequent ones stretched out to 3 months. When I reply, he is usually not online, and when he replies I am not online, so this game of Grindr tag has stretched out for that long . But there was a reason I keep replying to him: he was very cute, looking foxy in his glasses in his profile pic. His profile says he was 5’10 (taller than me), 145 pounds (probably a Twink), and versatile (I keep thinking of the possibilities). he had a witty line in his profile, suggesting that he is not all just looking for sex, but also possibly some conversation and friendship.
 
This week I had time alone at my home, so I decide to ratchet the conversation up and catch the boy when he was online to talk to him in real time. I do catch him and as luck would have it, he was free tonight. After we ask a few exploratory questions to each other, we decide to meet. Apparently he lives at the apartment complex just a block over, so meeting was very convenient. Later that night he confirms he was coming over but had to wait till his roommate was home, for some reason.
 
One disadvantage was he wasn't of age to drink (21 is the drinking age in the US), so we had to meet sober. Which is fine by me but alcohol sure helps with the first few awkward moments of meeting someone for the first time. He makes it to my place, and first impressions can be deceiving. He was wearing a blousy sweater and skinny jeans, both popular with the youngsters. His hair was long and shaggy, and he was wearing nerdy glasses. He enters my living room and gives me a warm hug. He smiles wide and we nervously make our first small talk.
 
What happens next was a little bit surprising. We actually have a good and interesting discussion about a variety of topics for a good hour and a half. Maybe I misjudged his intellect because of how young he is, but he was able to pique my interest long enough that I did not think about having sex with him just yet. He is a college boy who was fairly introspective and very inquisitive. His flow of conversation perfectly matched mine, and we got each other's senses of humor right away which made our talks even better.
 
Like a lot of people his age, he smokes a lot of weed, and once in a while does other drugs recreationally. And he is also uninterested in attending classes at school at the moment, and prefers to just smoking weed and hanging out with friends. He says this in a none-entitled brat kind of way. I kind of get what he was saying. School is not for everyone, and it does not click for everyone until later on. I did tell him that at some point he will have to get serious with his studies and graduate. He gets it and tells me he does need to step up pretty soon.
 
All this talking and banter was very fulfilling up to this point. We get to talk about the glasses he was wearing. He takes them off and asks me if I preferred his look without glasses. I get to see his whole face without the nerdy glasses. I told him he looked so much younger without glasses. I admire his big and wide eyes for a moment. The slight change in his looks made all the difference with me. A familiar feeling went through me. He noticed it and placed his hands on my face to kiss me.
 
We found what we both wanted. We kissed and kissed and kissed. I put my arms around his tiny waist and felt his stomach. He had the classic young person’s lean frame. I feel his abs, his arched back, his unperfumed scent. He asks where the bedroom was so I lead him to it. We kiss some more and then proceed to take our clothes off. Some sucking, lots of body contact, and plenty of kissing. I admire his naked body: lean and enticing. He was the very definition of twink, and the shaggy hair added to his youthfulness. His cock is thin, but long, and uncut like his Mexican brothers. It’s the eyes though, big, light brown and full of promise, that gets me.
 
After the deed I tell him the truth about my relationship status. He was cool with it, and told me he wont say anything about our meeting to anyone. I tell him I appreciate it, and told him that my BF knows about my activities. Before he leaves he goes to our kitchen and opens the refrigerator and looks inside. He then takes a beer from one of the shelves and asks for a bottle opener. I open the beer for him. He kisses me and thanks me for the fun and the beer. I have committed a misdemeanor by giving alcohol to a 20 year old. I think I’ll be fine. 
 
Hombre Numero Dos: The Party Boy
 
I am flying to Mexico City today. It’s Friday, and I still have to go through a full work day, before my flight tonight. This is the beauty of flying to a destination that is less than 3 hours away: one can just leave a little early from work and still get there in time to get the party started. I am going to Mexico City for a work trip next week for a few days, but I decided to fly into the city a few days earlier for the weekend to see how much trouble I can get into.
 
In preparation for my trip to Mexico City, I decided to turn on the Fake GPS app on my android device, and put my location in the area around Le Meridien hotel on the main Reforma thouroughfare. I had Grindr, PlanetRomeo, Jackd, and Hornet, open for this exercise. I wasn’t sure what app I could catch the most boys with in Mexico, so I played the odds and chose almost all of them. I had some interesting hits in almost all of them, but I got the most success on Jackd and Grindr. There was a good mix of free boys just wanting to meet a tourist for friends and/or fun, but there were also some moneyboys who offered their services.
 
I got into some fairly interesting conversations with a bunch of free boys who were my type (early to mid 20s, fit, boyish to handsome looks), but one stood out of all the boys. He was 23, white Mexican, had a striking nose and pretty eyes, and was on the line straddling twink-dom and a lean jock physique. But the number one feature that made him stood out for me was his height. He was 6’2 (188 cm), which was fairly tall for a Mexican guy. His English was very good, as he was a college graduate who has started to work an office job a few months ago. On Jack'd we exchanged more photos, and with conversations turning to some steamy back and forths about our sexual preferences, we decided to take a step further and talk on one of Mexico’s preferred messaging apps: WhatsApp.
 
Throughout the week we would constantly talk when we could at work and after work. I told him my flight to Mexico City was landing Friday night at 9 PM. He offered to meet me at the airport. He didn’t have a car but he could help me get to my hotel. I told him he did not need to do that, but he was insistent. He said he can speak Spanish to the taxi driver so I could get to my destination faster. He also told me he was attending the birthday party of his best friend that night, and if I was OK with it, we both could attend the party together. He said the nightclub (Rhodesia) was close to my hotel. I looked at the reviews of the club online and it looks like it checks out.
 
I admit, this might be a very risky meeting. I am going with a 23 year old who I will be meeting for the first time, to a club that I haven’t been to, in a city known for its crime and unsafe streets.  But I feel that the biggest factor to the success of my trips has been my willingness to say yes to everything thats sees fun to me. Sometimes I am rewarded with meeting an amazing guy who took me to his apartment on the back of his motorbike in Mandalay, others times it meant me getting so drunk I punched a ladyboy coming onto me in Pattaya. I felt that I have done my due diligence in sussing out this boy, with the weeklong conversation we’ve been having, checking out the venue online, as well as trusting my gut instinct.
 
So the day of my Mexico City trip came. I didn’t get much sleep the night before. I was probably anxious with the trip coming ahead. The workday was stressful and unnecessarily busy. By the time I got on my flight, I was tired and dreading having to meet a total stranger when I landed. I get there in no time at all, and no jetlag to get over. Advantage: Mexico. There was a labyrinthine path that you have to take to get through immigration and customs, and there was a shortage of forms as well. Advantage: Thailand. I got through customs and heading out, I see a crowd of Mexicans waiting for their loved ones exit the secure area. I immediately see a guy taller than everyone else there, his handsome face hovering over everyone in the crowd, his pale white skin a contrast to the brown skin most of the people had. He sees me right away from his vantage point, and smiles and waves, as if he thought I did not see him right away. What a cute smile. Advantage: Mexico. So much Mexico.
 
He shakes my hand to welcome me. “Welcome to Mexico City” he says, in a deep voice. He had a tall person’s voice. We ask each other how the other was doing. He asks me about my flight, I ask him about his work today. He looked so fresh faced and energetic, even if he worked a full day today. I, on the other hand, looked like shit. The disadvantages of being 12 years older than a 23 year old. He points to the direction where the taxis were. We get there and there was a huge line for the taxi. He tells me we need to prepay for the authorized taxis (240 pesos, about $12). We wait in line like the others. There was a cool breeze in Mexico City tonight. Spring was still in the air. Everyone was in jackets including me.
 
We finally get a taxi and my luggage gets loaded in the trunk. Party Boy tells the driver the destination, in Spanish of course. He remembered that my hotel was the Le Meridien. Not a lot of traffic in the 25 minutes we spent getting to the hotel. On the way we talked about our own lives. I told him about where I grew up, about my family, and my work. He told me about his job (banking), his network of friends in the city, and growing up in Mexico City. I told him I was flying to Bangkok for Songkran in two weeks. He got excited about knowing this. He said it was his dream to go to Bangkok. I told him about my many Bangkok adventures. He clung on to every word.
 
We get to my hotel. Check-in was easy and painless. We get to the room and we hug for the first time. The hug is reminiscent of hugging my BF, in that hugging a tall person meant burying my face on their chest.  The Le Meridien Mexico city is an all-suite hotel, so we rested on the couch in the living room area and made out there for a while. It got to a point where we had to shower. We did and then retired to the bedroom. He checks a lot of boxes for me: lean muscular body, great ass, and as passionate as one would expect a Mexican would be. I got a hickie in 4 areas of my chest after all that.
 
We freshen up and I put on some nice pants, a shirt and my sweater for his best friend’s party. It was quite a walk to the Condesa district so I decided to use Uber to get there. I wanted to test Uber out, and I thought testing it with a local made it safe to try if something bad happened. I’m glad to report that the car was a nice sedan and a nice newer model. We got to the club in 15 minutes and it only cost us 55 pesos ($3). I gave the driver a 20 peso tip and we headed into the trendy bar.
 
We meet his friends who were already having a good time with drinks. His friends were fun and spoke to me in passable to excellent English when they could. I was older than everyone else but I didn’t feel out of place. I tested my puny Spanish with him and his friends and they appreciated the effort. He was impressed that I could speak some Spanish, but he made fun of my weird Spanish word pronunciation. He would compliment me by telling me I was handsome, but he would make fun of the 12-year age difference. I played along, getting his sense of humor.
 
Club Rhodesia is pretty cool. They played dance and electronica mostly and the crowd was pretty attractive and young for the most part. The drinks, I was told, was double or triple what you would expect in less trendy bars in the city. But it was a special occasion, and this place was the place to be tonight, so all Party Boy’s friends were there for the birthday celebration. After three drinks each, Party Boy tells everyone that we were leaving. Lots of pecks on the cheek, some hugs, and we were out of there. As we leave I ask him why we are leaving so early. He said three drinks is enough. He said he would rather spend more time with me (a visitor) alone than with friends he sees everyday. I was kind of flattered by that.
 
Outside it was kind of too cold to walk comfortably back to the hotel. We decide to hail a cab back to the hotel. 60 pesos later we get dropped off at the front of the hotel. He points to a street food stand nearby and we had some street tacos, which was so yummy and hit the spot. We get back to the room and sure enough we don’t skip a beat. Rest assured we did not get much sleep that night.
 
I will see this guy again Sunday.
 
Hombre Numero Tres: The Working Boy
 
During my Fake GPS exercise, I also attracted a fair amount of money boys initiating contact with me to offer their services, on all the apps. I would say about 40% of the messages I received were from working boys. The overwhelming majority of them were from muscular hunks. You know the type: big muscles, insane abs, giant ass, large cock. About 60% were from Mexicans, but I got interesting messages from Venezuelans, Colombians, Uruguayans, and Brazilians. I guess this is their version of Khmers, Burmese, Lao and Viets. Their rates wildly varied as well. Short time (one hour) rates ranged from $50 to $250. The more expensive ones had serviceable English and were drop dead gorgeous, and the cheaper ones, mostly from non-Mexicans or more average to decent lookers, only spoke Spanish.
 
Even if I got a fair amount of play from free boys who were my type, I was still very much interested with the paid sex scene in Mexico. The same reasons I have for going to Bangkok year after year to check out the gogo bar scene, is feeding my fascination with Mexico. I’ve said before that Thailand is still the top destination for sex tourists, with its ease of accessibility to newbies and shallow learning curve. Mexico still has significant barriers for it to be a top sex tourist destination: the worrying crime rate, the many unsafe parts of its towns and cities (to tourists and even to some locals), and no traditional male brothels like Thailand. But I feel that once you get the hang of it (and I feel that I am at the cusp of this), the rewards are numerous and addicting.
 
So out of all the money boys I’ve talked to, one money boy stuck with me. I found him on Jackd, like Party Boy before. He was 24 years old. He was pretty liberal in sending me photos. His photos were professionally taken, as if it was part of his portfolio for an escort agency. I discover later that it was exactly that. About 5’8, not overly muscular but had well developed pecs, arms and washboard abs. He was, as the others I have been attracted to, was white Hispanic. I guess I have a type of Mexicans I go for now. And like the others, he had that striking large Mayan nose. And of course, a given with these boys already, he had a giant ass and a thick, veiny, beautiful, large uncut cock. His face and body was made for enjoying and making animal sex to.
 
His English is not very good, and I knew that at times he used a translator to formulate his replies to me, judging by the stilted grammar. But he tried, and persevered, eager to make a sale, and perhaps feed into his curiosity of getting an Asian customer to take him. We made a date to meet sometime Saturday afternoon, and I wanted him to spend a night in my hotel room. He quotes me a long-time rate of $150, which was on the high side of Bangkok long times, but I am eager to try for research's sake (and filling a night alone in Mexico city).
 
After spending all that time with Party Boy I was tempted to just take a break and get some sleep that Saturday. But instead I told Working Boy on Whatsapp that I will be meeting him at 6 PM, so that I can rest for a little bit and recharge. 5 PM comes and I take a shower and tidy up before he gets here. I put all my valuables in the room safe, just in case. At 6:10 he messages me on WhatsApp and tells me he is walking up to the hotel. I rush down and hang out in the small round about in the front of the hotel to meet him. I see a muscular guy in a denim jacket and trendy kicks walking towards me.
 
I usher him to the hotel. Security didn’t seem to mind that I had company. We get up to the room and we both sit on the couch. I offer him a beer and he gladly says yes. I went to Oxxo, Mexico’s version of 7-11, that was a few blocks over, and got a few cans for the company I was expecting. We talk for a little bit, as I wanted to get a feel for his personality.
 
He seemed shy and soft-spoken at first, but after a few beers he got more comfortable. His English was not as bad as I thought, but I had to use my Spanish once in a while, or google translate, or had to grammatically simplify my answers so we can talk. Nevertheless, the visuals were great. He was really a looker, and better looking than his photos. I couldn’t wait to try the merchandise.  I found out that he has a wife and a kid, who they had when they were teenagers. He didn’t go to school so being a money boy was his best chance to get a decent amount of money to earn a living for his family.
 
He insisted we shower together, which was a nice surprise. He kissed me very deeply in the shower. And then deeply in the room. And deeply all throughout. Mexicans really are very outwardly passionate creatures. Even if he was straight, he sure could have fooled me by the way he made love. He did everything I asked him, including bottoming. I tried to bottom for him but he was simply too big for me. But the fun was in the trying, and I definitely tried my best to get to know him physically as much as I possibly could.
 
He stayed the night, and I had nothing to worry about in terms of safety. In the morning we have breakfast together at the hotel breakfast buffet. I partake of him one last time before he had to go home. I give him two crisp bills of $100 and $50 each. He hugs me again and gets a deep kiss in before he left the room. I check all my belongings just to be sure and everything was intact. And sure enough, everything was, and I had nothing to worry about.
 
--------
 
Hooking up with these boys in a span of 7 days had me thinking about how similar they were to each other. They were all of Mexican heritage, in their early 20s, and were very passionate lovers. They all had classic Mexican looks with their big Aztec noses and white Hispanic skin. And all three had impressive uncut cocks. But the similarities end there. American Boy was the classic college slacker who hated going to school and who smoked too much weed. Working Boy is working hard to support his family that he started too early, to the point of having to prostitute himself. Party Boy was in the middle: he seemed to not be afflicted with a sense of entitlement, and he did not have to work too hard to get out of poverty. He was making the most of his youth, and to me he was the luckiest of all the three.
 
Since these three boys were all Mexican in heritage, my mind thinks about the nature of fate, and wonders if the boys switched lives with each another, will their lives end up being the same? Would American Boy still be a slacker if he was born in Mexico and mired in poverty? Will Working Boy prosper in school if he was given the chance? Will Party Boy reach new heights if he was born in the U.S., or will he be afflicted with the same sense of entitlement?
 
These are the things that go through my head, whenever I pay a visit to the wonderful World of Beautiful Boys.

Day 74: The Five Days That May Have Finally Stopped me from Going Back to Bangkok
 
I’m typing this right now on my flight back to California. I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t get bumped up to first class, even if I was at the top of the list of people eligible for upgrades. I guess United Economy Plus will have to do for now. The middle-aged couple who sat next to me were fun though.  We recounted our respective holidays to each other. When they found out I was gay they got excited, and asked me about what gay-specific activities I did. I told them as much as I could without scaring them with the more risqué parts of my vacation. They seemed to love my sanitized stories so much that they paid for my $7.99 rum and coke that United was selling. A great ending to an amazing and quick holiday.
 
I spent the last five days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, basically drinking margaritas, eating tacos, and hitting the beach.  The five days have been a blur. It was spent mostly with 6 of my good friends and my BF hanging out, taking advantage of the sun and beach and sea, the food and culture and shopping, the drinking and gay nightlife and fun. Like Myanmar, I did not know what Puerto Vallarta was about, except that it was in Mexico and there was a lot beach and sun. I was surprised that there was a lot gay businesses in this little city, as well as a lot of gay activities to fill the time. There’s easily 20+ gay bars, dance clubs, saunas and strip clubs, as well as gay-dominated gay resorts and gay parts of the beach. With all these options, the fie days weren't enough.
 
I’m not about to tell you guys all the details about my time with my friends. But I can say that it was fun, there was a birthday party for two of my friends, we all got stinking drunk every night, some of us got sunburned, bad, and all the other things you expect in a long weekend in a resort town with 7 good friends. My BF was only there for three of the nights that were over the weekend. We did couples things, had fun at the hotel room, and we all got caught up with our friends, who now live far from us. He left last Sunday to be back to work on Monday. I stayed two more nights with 3 of the friends who could stay longer.  I now have some alone time to do more “single guy” activities. My friends know about my open relationship. So we decided to check out the gay strip club Wet Dreams.
 
I’ve always thought that Bangkok’s sex industry was unique. The city has brothels that were one-stop-shops: you can have a drink, sit down and watch a show, and get boys to sleep with you for a fee. There was nowhere else like it in the world that has that kind of complete service. Puerto Vallarta certainly did not have all of this, so I went into the strip club keen on just having a good time with my friends, and perv on the nice looking Latino boys in the club.
 
Four of us had a delicious Mexican dinner and then some drinks or 3 at the always busy gay bar Mr. Flamingo. The drinks were approximately $5 each, more expensive than what you get in Bangkok, but still cheaper than what we are used to paying back home. We were all well lubricated when we hit Wet Dreams the gay strip club. No cover charge at the door, just a lone doorman greeting everyone who came in. We enter and the place was a little bit busy. Lots of patrons tonight, and there was a smattering of super-hot Latino boys in a variety of clothing: from tight pants, to sexy shorts, to tiny briefs. Some patrons had a drink on their hand, but some did not, so it was clear that you did not need drinks to hangout in this place.
 
My one friend, who had been here before, had told us what to expect in this club earlier over dinner. He said that the boys live on tips, so expect the boys to be aggressive. They will approach you without any invitation from you. You are not obligated to tip them if they come to you, as long as you don’t touch them. They will probably touch you and grind on you to entice you to touch them. Once you do touch them, you must tip them, minimum 20 pesos ($1). You can touch them all over, and most of the time they will guide your hand to their preferred way to be touched.
 
We get to sit in the back where the benches by the wall were, situated around the stripper pole. It seems that most of the patrons wanted to stand and drink and interact with other patrons and the boys who circulate around the club. We sit down and look around. Most of the boys were young, semi-muscular guys. Some of them were super muscular guys who would belong in Tawan. There were two boys at the stripper pole in front of us, just dancing and showing their wares. Both were tall, hunky, muscular and young Latino guys. They knew what they had, and were not afraid to show it off. Both were sporting huge bulges hiding in their shorts. My friend motions over to a waiter and we get asked our drink orders. My friend buys all of us a round of drinks, and soon we were enjoying our drinks and looking at boys.
 
I like the social aspect of this bar. Patrons were milling about, not only admiring the boys, but also talking to fellow customers who they fancy, or just being friendly. The boys, flitting from one customer to another, were by design very social as well, as they are in search of tips. There is more involvement and intermingling, and everyone was having a good time. Quite a contrast to Bangkok bars where the customers are usually passive observers of the show onstage, or the boys onstage advertising their wares. This was more my speed, and part of the reason why I prefer social settings to more passive media such as Hornet. What use is sitting alone in your room, stuck on Hornet in your iPad, trolling for your next thrill. Come hear the music play, and hang out with 80 of your best friends for the night, and 20 of the hottest boys Vallarta can offer.
 
As soon as we get comfortable, the boys see us as fresh meat and head over our direction. One boy, medium height, muscular torso, and only wearing baggy shorts, but was had the front open to reveal sexy underwear, was grinding on my friend closest to the stripper pole. My friend was feigning disinterest but I knew he was loving it. My other friend next to him pulled the stripper over to him and put a 20-peso bill in the garter of his briefs. The stripper quickly guides my friend’s hand with the money and puts it in his underwear to get my friend to feel his cock. My friend was smitten. The stripper draws in closer and my friend gets a good grope of his other assets.
 
My experienced friend gets busy quickly and finds a boy he likes. The boy was a stunner. He was tall, had fine hair on his chest, and had super giant pecs, biceps, ass and thighs. And a giant bulge hiding in his skimpy shorts. The knew what he had. He knew how he can get the most money from patrons. My friend was loving it. He starts with 20 pesos, then puts in another 20. As soon as the giant guy leaves to signal to my friend that he has had 20 pesos worth of gropes in, my friend would put in 20 pesos again. Giant guy, knowing that he had something good going with my friend, stops and talks to my friend. I wonder what they were talking about.
 
I was enjoying seeing the interaction between my friends and the boys. I look around and admire the boys from afar, not really interested in groping a boy just yet. And then I see him. He was this young, white Hispanic guy. He has a striking nose on his face, very cute and handsome at the same time. He was wearing tight pants that hugged his muscular legs. But his shirtless body was insane: he had 8-pack abs, giant biceps, and a well-defined back. He was all smiles and getting a lot of attention from the patrons just by standing there. Occasionally, a patron would go to him and get a feel of his granite torso and he would get the money and the customer would leave. He can just make a living just standing here,looking pretty,  with guys feeling up his torso.
 
He sees me looking at him, and poses and flexes for my benefit. Man, this guy was jacked. And that face was amazingly cute and boyish. I smile, and raise my martini in his direction. He heads to my direction and puts his hand on my face. He draws me close and whispers something in my ear. He tells me his name. Let’s call him MexBoy. “You like me?” I put a hand on his giant chest and say “Si!” He laughs, and then puts my hand in his underwear. I get a feel of his semi-hard uncut cock. I feel the pubic hair and the smooth balls. I get hard instantly. I reflexively take out my hand to get money out of my pocket. I find 20 pesos and I stuff it in his briefs. “Thank you, amigo,” he says. I continue to feel him up. I didn’t want him to go. I put in another 50 pesos and he stays a little longer.
 
He asks me “Buy me drink?” I say sure. He motions to the waiter, tells him his order, and the waiter says “110 pesos” to me. I pay and 5 minutes later he takes the drink over to us. MexBoy stays with me while drinking, and he and I talk. He sets his drink on the ledge behind me. He hugs me close and he lets me kiss his neck and smell his boyness. I take a big whiff. A mixture of fruity perfume and his own scent. Heavenly. The feel of my hands around his back, while I hug and hold him close, was amazing. I forget I was in public with my friends for a second. He takes a sip of his drink occasionally, and he asks me some questions about my holiday and myself. His English was passable enough to make it interesting. He would smile and laugh once in a while. His voice was boyish and musical. An amazing combination.
 
After 15 minutes of hanging out, he asks me “Private show?” I ask him what that entailed. He then explains that we go in a private booth in the back, and I can do whatever I wanted with him. He motioned to his crotch and ass, meaning that I could blow and rim him. He smiles and I hesitate for a moment. He pulls me close and kisses me deep, for 5 seconds. He pulls back and looks at my eyes and smiles, trying to gauge my reaction to the kiss. He was trying to make a sale. He was winning. I ask “How much for the show?” He says 500 pesos ($25). I look around and some of my friend were busy with either other boys or in conversations with each other or other patrons. I tell them I was going to do a private show. They encourage me to do it and in 5 minutes the waiter escorts me and MexBoy to the back.
 
On the way to the booths I see signs saying “10 minute Private Show for 500 pesos”. OK, I only have 10 minutes. We enter this booth with a couch, a side table, an egg timer and a swinging door. MexBoy sits me down the couch and closes the door. He immediately disrobes, displaying his magnificent body. The sight of his body alone was worth the $25. Everything about his 22-year-old boy was flawless. And the beautiful cock was swinging back and forth. My god this was amazing. He sits on my lap and then puts my hand on his torso. He grinds on me, gives me a slow dance on my lap, and then kisses me. While he does this, he gets hard, showing a respectably sized uncut Latin cock. I stroke it and he moans in pleasure.
 
We do this for a while. He grinds, flexes, kisses me and poses. I appreciate all the attention and perfection before me. What seems like 30 minutes passed by and I tell him, in Spanish, that I thought it was over 10 minutes now and he didn’t turn on the egg timer. He was floored that I could speak some Spanish. Those high school lessons came in handy (as well as growing up in California). He waves his hand, signaling that he didn’t care about the time. I get up and sit him down the couch. I take the encounter further and lift his giant thighs to rim him. It was as amazing as I imagine it would be. I suck him, barely taking all of him on my mouth.
 
He stands up and sits me back down. He sits his bare ass on my crotch. He grinds for a while. He then opens the front of my shorts and pulls my briefs down to reveal my hard-on. He strokes me for a while, and then bends over to kiss my cock, and then take it whole in his mouth for a second. That drove me insane. Definitely no condom with oral with him. He strokes me and he strokes and he strokes. I stop him and tell him I didn’t want to cum. He smiles and stops and kisses me instead. He then explains in English that it was not good to fuck in the booth because people may need to use it any minute. But he did say that he was available to go to my hotel room.
 
I didn’t think that was an option with him, or anyone in the strip club. I ask him when he was free to go with me. He said tomorrow is good, because he had to be at his bar till 3 AM tonight. I ask how much. He said $100 for a whole day. He then tried to sell it. He said he can stay in my hotel, we can go to lunch or dinner, we can go shopping, be my tour guide, we can drink and hangout, all for $100 a day. I was immediately sold. That was like a long-time tip for some higher end boys in Bangkok anyway. And I can tell you from experience that those boys weren’t as sensual and as much a sexual dynamite like this boy. We exchange numbers on WhatsApp. We put clothes back on. He opens the door and takes me by the hand to take me back to my friends.
 
MexBoy hangs out with me the whole time after, without asking for tips, till my friends and I were done with the club. My friends and I finally go back to the hotel, and MexBoy had to stay behind. My friends and I exchange stories about the night. It was fun, lots of laughter, as we stumble back into our hotel and our rooms. I couldn’t do all this with my BF in town. But now he was gone, I could enjoy that private show. I sleep alone pretty soundly that night.
 
What do I do the next day? I call MexBoy and he shows up in my hotel room after my brunch with friends. We hang out, alone in my hotel room having sex and being sweet to each other. I text my friends that I had to skip out beach day today because I needed to work, but really I just wanted alone time with MexBoy.  I meet my friends for dinner and drinks, telling MexBoy to come back to the room once I was done with my friends. I spent 4 hours with my friends before calling it an early night. MexBoy comes back and we continue our time together. Latinos are, generally, sensual creatures, and this boy was no exception. I could not get enough of him, and it seemed like he couldn’t get enough of me either. He stays the night, and leaves first thing in the morning. I give him a crisp $100 bill, and $10 for good measure. Money well spent. That was amazing.
 
I took a lot of photos of this 22-year-old muscular Mexican hottie. I thought about showing some photos of him on this thread. Of course I couldn’t post a photo of him fully naked and erect. That’s against board rules. I could show him in undies with a big bulge, but I guess I must blur his face, because I am not allowed on this forum to show faces of prostitutes. I could just do that, but decided against it. It is not fun to show photos on this thread anymore. It’s not fun to post anything about my trip report anymore. I find it strange that some of the threads here devolve into a circular firing squad, with members just in each other’s throat. I am amazed by the discussion about my controversial showing of faces of alleged prostitutes in a public setting. Lots of opinions flying around. It just did not feel fun for me anymore.
 
I have a Bangkok trip coming up over Songkran week. One of the things that I liked about Songkran last year was hanging out in Soi Twilight and seeing all the boys from Bangkok Massage and Hot Male beer bar and Scorpion bar and the other bars in the Soi, having fun in Songkran with water guns, and pails of water, just throwing water everywhere and to anyone that happens to go in the Soi. I took a lot of amazing photos last year of this spectacle. I was going to do it again this year (if Songkran is not subdued by mourners), but I realize that I can’t post photos of the boys doing this, because some of them are gogo boys, so I have to blur their faces. That’s not fun anymore. I am just not going to do that, and that’s why I will probably not do a trip report of that week as well.
 
So, I am at a crossroads at the moment. As much enamored as I am with Bangkok and its sex tourism industry, it only takes me three-and-a-half hours from California to get to Puerto Vallarta and get the same thing, for the same amount money. The boys are different, and probably more suited to my tastes. If MexBoy is any indication of what I can expect from Latino boys, it will be a more sensual and explosive time. I feel that the Bangkok boys are relatively more reserved. And it takes me 20+ hours just to get to Bangkok, and factor in the time difference and jetlag, and one wonders why I would want to go back to Bangkok ever again, when Mexico is just there for the relatively easy taking.
 
The trip report is the same. Why would I continue to post if I must develop a “thick skin?” Instead of changing myself, why not just stop posting online? I like being sensitive sometimes. It enables me to express myself more freely in life and in my writing. And why heavily edit my already completed report? I need to take the extra time to blur faces in my night in Fake Club, for example, where BurBoy and I met a few boys from Dream Boy, one of whom was flirting with BurBoy hard, and more sloppily as he got more drinks in him. The blurring of faces and editing of text is time consuming, so I may not just do it.  Not to mention that I am taking a chance just talking about Mexican Boys on the GayThailand forum. It might devolve into that Taipei thread. So much sniping at each other in that one. It’s exhausting.
 
The standards in which I was asked to follow is cut-and-dry. I saw my error and I corrected it before the editing time, and apologized for it. But what I see on other threads on this board is kind of confusing to me. Does this board have a problem with showing prostitute’s faces to protect their privacy? Clearly not, judging from the countless threads of sexual exploits with photos of boy with faces shown. Maybe the standard is that its not allowed to post photos without the consent of the boys? But there is a whole section devoted to Hornet reviews of boys, with photo of their faces in their unblurred glory, and there was no consent asked in sharing those photos and profiles, at least as far as i know.
 
Maybe the standard is that those Hornet boys are known to be prostitutes and are getting reviewed by posters here, and the difference with my mistake is that I am showing boys that I can only guess as prostitutes, in a public setting. But what about when posters show just random Hornet photos, urging members to try those boys’ services. There is no guarantee that they are prostitutes, and yet the posters oftentimes insinuate that they are. What about those photos belonging to fake profiles that use photos of boys that are not prostitutes, where’s the outcry in that? They don’t know their photos are getting perved on in this board. I estimate that a quarter of the profiles in gay apps are fake, and those profiles use photos of hot boys they find on Instagram or Facebook. Catfish is a real thing after all. All these standards, for me, are confusing and hard to keep up with. I guess in the end, it depends on the poster and what standard is imposed on them. Cest la vie.
 
So my April trip may be my last to Bangkok for a while. It is a huge world out there. My Mexico trip reminded me of that fact. And poor BurBoy. I may just have to end it with him sooner rather than later. The siren song of other boys, in other countries, is just too strong to overcome. I am not going to change who I am for just one amazing boy, or a few posters on this forum. I will continue to be myself, now, privately of course, as to not ruffle any more feathers. I’ll have to keep my boring stories to myself. Maybe in time I’ll share them again. But right now, you can catch me on the next flight to Mexico.
 
 
P.S. I’d like to thank those who have expressed encouragement towards me, publicly in this thread, and (way more of you) privately, through your private messages. You guys are right, there are more of you guys who read and like this drivel more than those who hate it. There are a few of those who have given me some hate, even very vicious, unnecessary, out-of-nowhere hatred. Thanks for writing me as well. You took the trouble to hate me and write about it, so I guess I am grateful for the effort and attention.  

I'm sure if the boys don't have a problem with their employers, via their Facebook Page, taking high resolution photos of them being sexy, I am sure my own, grainier photos are OK with them as well. Some samples, and way more on Facebook:
 

 

 

 

 
They even had some Farang dancers. I'm guessing this club is more "Chippendales", and less Screw Boys, that is why you don't see signs in the club telling customers that use of cameras are not allowed. You actually get rewarded if you take photos in the club and check-in via Facebook (i.e. BurBoy and 21 getting stuffed toys).
 
The sexy boys are obviously there for entertainment purposes only, since the club is not a brothel. I am not saying these boys won't be enticed to cross that line and do that sort of thing, but I am guessing it is not sanctioned by the club. Much like Space Hair Bar in Phnom Penh. Lots and lots of half naked photos of their boys on Facebook and more taken by patrons, but they are known to frown upon boys going the prostitution route (even firing some of them).
 
 
LOL. I'm not sure about that. I just thought it was a little bit unfair to single out my post. Why me? When there are so many other posts like that around here.

Day 10.4: Being Thai
 
So BurBoy was kind of bummed he didn’t get a passport today. He was bummed last month for not being able to get a passport for our trip. The only thing I could think of doing to cheer him up right now is to ply him with food. While we walk on Sathorn Road heading back to Soi Phiphat 2, I put my arm around his shoulders and squeeze. “You hungry? You want to eat?” We just ate breakfast 3 hours ago, so he said “Yes, little bit.” We get to Naradhiwat Rajanagarindra Road and see Alphabet Restaurant (#1,655 out of 9,482 Bangkok restaurants reviewed on TripAdvisor). The menu by the door looks promising, so we get seated.
 
I have to watch what I eat, as opposed to BurBoy who can eat anything. He orders a Mushroom salad with pork, and a calamari appetizer to share:
 

 

 
He orders coconut juice, in a coconut. Here he is, flipping all of you off:
 

 
I ordered a very large Long Island iced tea. BurBoy remarks that I am starting the drinking too early. I tell him that it is my holiday so I can do what I want. He eats his mushroom salad and tells me the nutritional benefits of eating mushrooms.
 
After the meal we head back to the condo. We had about 5 hours to kill before we had to go to our night activities. For the first time together in this trip, we did not have anything planned. No tour to go to, no party for at least 5 hours, just some time to relax. BurBoy takes the finished laundry out of the washer. Since the unit did not have a dryer, he uses the dryer rack by the washer and lays out all our clothes on it, and running out of space, he takes all the hangers from the closets and hangs the rest of the wet clothes around the room.
 
While he does this, I turn on the TV and discover that it had Netflix. I signed in with my U.S. Netflix account and was surprised that it worked. I flip through the shows and see that some of the available shows were different here in Thailand than back home. BurBoy takes the remote from me and flips through the shows. He decides on an ABC show called “Designated Survivor.” I work the TV remote till I figure out how to add subtitles to the show. Alas, it was only English subtitles. BurBoy can read some English, but I imagine he has difficulty reading at conversation speed. He didn’t mind.
 
It’s funny that I have never heard of this show, but the concept is that the President of the United States, all of Congress and all of his cabinet get blown up by terrorists during the State of the Union address. The “Designated Survivor” was the Housing and Urban Development Secretary, and due to the Presidential Line of Succession, the lowly HUD Secretary becomes President. Sounds preposterous, but if the new President is played by Kiefer Sutherland, I am willing to let some things slide.
 
While watching BurBoy had a shit ton of questions about the show. What’s a Cabinet Secretary? Why are their terrorists? Why was there no election? Why is Kiefer Sutherland not tall? It probably took us 50% longer to watch the 45-minute show due to pausing for explanations. I was more than OK with it, but some things cannot be explained fully explained by me due to language, cultural, and educational barriers. The fun is in the trying though, and after it was over BurBoy wanted to watch another episode.
 
After watching another episode, we decide to take a disco nap. I crank up the aircon. Cuddling, spooning, and eventually sleeping, we rest for a few hours. We wake up at 8 PM and get ready for the night ahead. We had plans to have a grand meal at the Ratchada Area. After dinner, we had plans to hang out with one of BurBoy’s best friends and his boyfriend. They could not join us for dinner but will be meeting us at Celebrity Club. We wear matching short shorts and t-shirts and we head out to the street.
 
BurBoy tells me that he wanted go to Oxa Pub and Restaurant (#732 out of 9,482 Bangkok restaurants reviewed in TripAdvisor). That meant we can take the MRT at Silom station and get off 8 stations later at Huai Kwang Station. We walk 15 minutes from the condo to the MRT station. We get those little plastic coin tokens and pay the 32 baht to get to Huai Kwang. We wait with others at the station:
 

 
At almost 9PM, the subway car we get in was pretty busy, and we had to stand. Forty minutes later we get to Huai Kwang station. It would probably be quicker if we took a taxi, but it would’ve been more expensive. Whenever I could, I love taking the BTS or the MRT. Its relatively cheap, goes to most places that I want to go, and its ripe for people watching.
 
We walk to Oxa Restaurant but see that is was closed:
 

 
BurBoy was surprised it was closed tonight. He reads some of the signs and he tells me that it was closed for the New Year celebrations. It will be open again in a couple of days, but today was January 2, and employees need a break. BurBoy quickly checks Facebook to see if Celebrity Club was open tonight, and not also closed due to the New Year. He breathed a sigh of relief and showed me the Facebook post that showed that they were open tonight.
 
We assess our options. BurBoy was set on eating at Oxa, but it was closed. I recommend us going to Celebrity Club now, and look for a restaurant close to it. BurBoy liked this idea, so he automatically hails a cab. He tells the driver our destination. 5 minutes later, we were by Celebrity Club. BurBoy pays the guy 40 baht.
 
We look around the area and we see this green neon sign:
 

 
BurBoy says he has been to this restaurant before, and guaranteed me that I will like it. We get in and the place is huge! It didn’t look this big from the outside. We pass by the bar, and I immediately like it:
 

 
We get seated by the pool, and see that this establishment was called “Nathong Restaurant” (#1,131 out of 9,482 Bangkok Restaurants) :
 

 
We get our menus and peruse the seemingly hundreds of dishes we can order:
 

 
A waitress comes and BurBoy immediately asks for our favorite, Myanmar Beer. We get a cart by our table, and we get poured our glasses of gold heaven:
 

 
I choose one thing and BurBoy chooses two things. I look around the area and there were a lot of people eating around the huge grounds. At the stage there was a live band singing trendy Thai songs:
 

 
I enjoy these Thai restaurants with live entertainment. I don’t understand the songs but the melody is universally catchy. anddy Lines me and asks me what I was doing. I send him a photo of the band and restaurant. I also tell him we were checking out Celebrity Club after this. He replies with “All of that is so Thai.” I laugh and wish him a good night. Since I looked the part, all that is needed now is me speaking the language, and the transformation is complete.
 
Our food comes, and it all looked so good:
 

 

 

 
We ordered some fish Tom Sam, Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab and some Roasted Pork Ribs. We tore into the amazing meal. I look over at BurBoy and he was happily eating the food. The festive ambiance, live entertainment, the delicious food, and the charming company all made the night. We finish and pay up. I forgot how much the meal was but obviously it wasn’t that much for me to remember.
 
With enough beer to make us giddy over the food, we head over to Celebrity Club:
 

 
So next, the boys of Celebrity Club, and BurBoy’s friends… 

Day 10: It’s a Good Day to go to the Embassy
 
At close to 1 AM BurBoy tells me he is ready to go. We say goodbye to anddy, who no doubt is still raring to party. We both still are lightweights. We all hug and I wish anddy well with handling all the hotness that surrounded us. It was the last night of the party, of most of these boys will be leaving tomorrow in flights or bus rides, so some of them are making the most of the fun. I still had a full week ahead of me in Bangkok, so the party will restart for me again tomorrow.
 
We get out of CentralWorld and find the exit to get out of the complex. On the way we pass by fellow tired revelers taking smoke breaks or just taking a break from the sensory overload:
 

 

 

 
We were about done ourselves. We get to the street and BurBoy hails a taxi. 60 baht later we were back at the condo. BurBoy immediately turns on the shower so we can both be fresh for sleep. I have gotten used the showers before bedtime with BurBoy. It was a good way to unwind and relax, and of course be fresh for possible nighttime or morning sex. That’s what I call a win-win. A few weeks later, after work one time and hanging out at home, while I was Lining BurBoy, I told him I was going to bed, and he asked if I finished showering. I told him no, I didn’t want to shower before bed. He couldn’t understand why I didn’t shower before going to bed. I told him it was winter in America, and that night it was just too cold to take a shower before bed.
 
We finish showering and decide to go to bed at the cum-encrusted bigger bed in the main bedroom. It was our last night in this condo so we didn’t care. We fall asleep immediately, no sex, just sleep. BurBoy had big plans tomorrow, so he was eager to rest up. I woke up at around 9 AM without the alarm, and get up to pee. I return and BurBoy is still fast asleep:
 

 
I slide back in bed and I spoon him. With such an inviting sight, how could you not. He stirs and slowly wakes up. “Good morning,” he whispers, smiling with eyes still closed. He turns to face me and then pulls me in to hug me. I feel his expected morning wood pressing against my thigh. We kiss to start the day. “Moment!” he explains. He gets up and goes to the bathroom. “Cannot pee na!” he says, unable to pee with a raging hard on. Just the typical morning with BurBoy of course. He eventually was able to calm down and pee.
 
He emerges from the bathroom, naked, and stroking his cock. I take matters into my own hands (so to speak) and set him back down the bed. I suck him back to hardness and rewards me with moans of pleasure. I suck, and rim, and finger, and after a few minutes he came in my mouth. Good morning to me.
 
Another shower of course immediately follows that. In the shower he was chatty, telling me what he wanted to do today. He wanted to go to the Myanmar Embassy today to see if he can get a passport. He also wanted to see his good friend who in a few days was going to do the monk thing so it was his last days of fun and frolic (as well a full head of hair) before a few days of meditation and solace at the monastery. I tell him maybe we can meet his friend over drinks or something. He thinks about it as we finish showering.
 
The condo unit was a war zone. There were clothes everywhere from our shopping and preparation for the party. Myanmar souvenirs were also strewn about while we sort it all out between the two of us. And both bedrooms were a mess due to our exertions. We pack up and tidy up the best we can for our move today. For my last 6 nights in Bangkok I rented an AirBNB that was walkable to Silom, so we can take advantage of the bars.
 
After packing I look for breakfast choices around the area. I find a promising restaurant called Kay’s Boutique Breakfast that was a 10-minute walk from the condo. FWIW it was #233 out of 9,481 ranked Bangkok restaurants on Tripadvisor. The reviews looked promising, and it looked like they had a healthy variety of iced coffees that I required out of my breakfasts. I consult with BurBoy and he says “I anything today,” so we put on clothes and walk to the restaurant. It was a nice day to walk the streets of Bangkok.
 
We get there and at 11 AM, and since it was a breakfast-only place, we got there before it closed at 11:30 AM:
 

 

 
There were some yummy items on the menu, mostly western stuff. We order some iced coffees and orange juice, and our main meals:
 

 

 
We sat by the bar so we were able to see them cook our food, which was an entertaining plus:
 

 
We get our breakfast items, a King of Egg Benny (eggs benedict) and creamy pasta with ham and egg:
 

 

 
The portions were smaller than we were used to, but we both agreed that it tasted amazing. We finish and pay up (850 baht) and head back to the condo to walk off the yummy food. Definitely highly recommended breakfast restaurant, if you guys are ever in the area.
 
We pack up our stuff and make sure we did not forget anything. I Line the next AirBNB unit’s owner and tell her we were on our way to Silom. Luckily the unit was available early today so we were able to check-in before 2 PM. BurBoy hails a taxi and says the familiar “Silom Soi S̄ām” to get us to the new condo unit. It was a different unit from the one I got a few days ago, but it was in the same condo building.
 
The owner was not there to meet us for the keys, but she left the keys to the Juristic person on duty at the condo building office. He asked for my ID and then gave me the keys right away. I didn’t really need the owner to be there, since I have stayed in this building so many times before. And at $45 a night, it was a steal. We get to our 3rd floor unit, and it was again one of the corner units that was bigger than other one-bedroom units in the building. BurBoy was on a mission though. He immediately took out his dirty clothes, and some of mine, from our suitcases, and started to load it in the unit’s washer:
 

 
BurBoy takes off his tank top and puts on a more “conservative” t-shirt. He says “We now go embassy OK.” I nod my head. I ask him how much money should I bring with me to pay for his passport. He says maybe at least 2000 baht. I bring 5000 baht just in case. I google map the  embassy and it looks like it was walkable:
 

 
It was still a nice day to walk so we have a luxurious walk on Soi 3 to Soi Phiphat 2 to Sathorn Road. Pretty soon we see the sign for the embassy:
 

 
 and we walk in and find out we got in to the Visa side of the building: 
 

 
It was for foreigners who needed a Visa to get to Myanmar. I wonder if it was cheaper to get the visa this way. BurBoy said that the locals part of the embassy was further down the road. We get there and go inside, and then BurBoy instructs me to sit on one of these colorful plastic chairs while he talks to the people in charge:
 

 
It was not like any other embassy I’ve been to. The outside looked like a normal building, but inside, this area for Myanmar citizens looked like the inside of someone’s house. I guess it is still a poor country, even at their embassy that most probably sees the biggest traffic, since there were a lot of Myanmar citizens in Thailand who need help and assistance.
 
BurBoy finishes his conversation and motions to me that we were leaving. He tells me that since it was past 3 PM, they cannot help him today, and they told him to come back in the morning tomorrow for the passport. He said it will only cost him 800 baht for the passport application, and he confirmed with the person that he brought all the paperwork he needed to get one.  He was disappointed that he didn’t get one today. He felt bad that he wasn’t able to fly with me to Bangkok because of his lack of passport, and still felt bad that he couldn’t have one today. I assured him that he will get one tomorrow and not worry about it.
 
It was time to kick-off the rest of the holiday, so up next, more partying…

Day 9.7:  On Sundays We Wear White
 
We head over to the escalators to get to GMM Live House on the 8th level. On the way find gay boys everywhere in white, trying to get to the party as well:
 

 
We get to the ticketing area and we use our last tickets to the party
 

 
We got here earlier than last night at 10:30 PM, so there was time to soak up the atmosphere and check out the backdrops with hot boys in front of them, just waiting on revelers to take photos of them and with them. BurBoy was definitely interested in getting some photos with the hot boys, so I take some photos with all of them. Edited the photos to protect BurBoy’s privacy, of course:
 

 

 

 
anddy also got some photos in as well, and I send his through Line. I didn’t get any because the BurBoy ones were enough for my own collection, for now.  
 
anddy finds one of his hot Thai doctor friends manning the HIV testing station towards the end of the hallway where the backdrops were. We get our hugs and talk with him for a while in English. BurBoy asks me what this testing station was about. Instead of me trying to explain what HIV and AIDS was, I asked the good doctor to tell BurBoy in Thai. BurBoy gets an explanation and he understood what it was for. The doctor talks in English again and asks us if we were interested in getting tested. I told him that I just got tested before I came to SE Asia, and anddy got tested recently as well. BurBoy hasn’t, but didn’t want to take it right now.
 
As we go through the periphery of the main hall, we see a lot of boys in white:
 

 
We pass by the red laser display that boys were taking a lot of photos at. BurBoy wants some photos and I take a ton of photos with him in it. A photo without him in it:
 

 
After we’ve had our fill of people watching in the hallways, anddy decides that it was time for us to get in the main dance hall itself. We get in a see a sea of white:
 

 

 
The boys got into the white theme of the last night, and eager to celebrate the New Year. We decide to buy some alcohol to start the festivities. We get it at the bar at the opposite side of the dance hall. anddy was buying drinks, but he had to get a party cash card first because the bar itself did not accept direct cash payments:
 

 
anddy remarked that this was all a scam. Customers will have to get the cards and fill it with cash, but some won’t finish off the cash in the cards, and the cash will remain unclaimed after the party and will go directly to the pockets of the party organizers. Anything to make a buck I guess. We get out drinks and we thank anddy for his kindness:
 

 
As we take a sip of our alcohol we observe the festivities currently in progress:
 

 
We stay at the outer portion of the hall. We see that the dancers were wearing white and out in full force entertaining the boys:
 

 
We try to get closer and get lost in the big crush of boys:
 

 
The phenomenon that anddy and Divinemadman have described was there.
 

 
 I’ll let them both describe it:
 
 
Drugs or no drugs, it was kind of annoying, and it was best to avoid being near anyone who was in that chain. We stay far away from them and away from the stage as well.
 
At the stroke of midnight, the main headliner of the party came out. It was Sophie Ellis-Bextor, owner of some top 10 dance hits and in the early 2000s:
 

 
I remember seeing her videos and dancing to them in my early-20s, so I knew of her. anddy and BurBoy, however, did not know her at all. So I showed them some Wikis about her. anddy commented that the song she was singing now (“Take Me Home”) was a song in the 1970s. She also sang her mainstays “Groovejet (If It Just Ain’t Love)” and “Murder on the Dancefloor”.
 
After Sophie’s act ended, a lot of the boys exited the dance hall to take a break. It was the cue for us three to get in through the big crowd and take our place close to the front near the stage. We were able to be far away enough from the Chinese dance-swaying chain of death. We stake our claim close to the front and see that the dancers were also close:
 

 
I remember seeing on Facebook that there was a dancer search done a few months ago:
 

 
and most of the Asian boys who had a considerable social presence applied for it and we now see them onstage:
 

 
It was smart of the organizers to pick these boys: not only were they the typical hot boy that most of the revelers go for, their social media presence was free advertisement for the party itself.
 
One of them is Whyan Chen, with the giant thighs and ass. To me he was the most into all the dancing, and teased the revelers most out of all the boys:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Another one was Cory Zwierzynski, who was an Andrew Christian underwear model:
 

 

 
The two got into the act, dancing together:
 

 
There were other hot dancers of course, and instead of identifying all of them, I’ll just have them in my series: Boywatching #7 – White Party Edition:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
There was a lot of eye candy offstage of course:
 

 

 

 

 
BurBoy and anddy were having fun. BurBoy was taking as many photos as I was, and in between we were dancing in place. It was a good victory celebration for our epic Myanmar tour week. BurBoy definitely deserved every bit of fun we were having tonight. As we danced the night away, I also forgot, for tonight, my other life. Tonight, there was only this, and it was amazing.

Day 9.4: Meanwhile, In-between Parties
 
Despite my claim that we were tired from all the activity in the day, we really didn’t get to bed till 3. We were too tired for sex but the food and talking did eat up the time. We wake up close to 11 and had to hurry because we had a few errands to run today, as well as having lunch with a Malaysian friend of mine who was in town for the White Party. We met him briefly last night, but we wanted to catch up today over lunch.
 
We hurriedly shower (together) and get dressed. We both were running out of clean clothes to wear, with the very busy travel week we have been through. But today was set for clothes shopping, to get some new clothes to wear, and because the Theme for the White Party night tonight was to wear all-white. It is the White Party after all, and they saved the white night for last. I already envisioned BurBoy wearing a sexy singlet and white shorts. I am sure the singlet will be taken off at the earliest opportunity.
 
I ask BurBoy where he wanted to go shopping. He said either at MBK or Platinum Mall, and recommended we go to Chatuchak Market next weekend when we were less pressed for time. I preferred Platinum Mall’s restaurants, so I Line my friend that we were awake and will be meeting at Platinum Mall in 20 to 30 minutes. We finish getting ready and go downstairs. It was a long schlepp to Platinum, so I suggested we get a cab. BurBoy one ups me and hails a Tuk-tuk instead. BurBoy tells the driver where to go and he quotes 80 baht for the ride and we speed away.
 

 
I haven’t been in a Bangkok Tuk-tuk in over a year. After my first few trips to LOS, I preferred walking or taking a cab for shorter distances, and the BTS or MRT for longer ones, over this mode of transport. As opposed to Cambodia, where I used it all the time. I took a couple of selfies of me and BurBoy in the Tuk-tuk. Looking at those photos now I see the unbridled joy me and BurBoy were having with the wind blowing in our faces, and our hair wild with the open-air nature of the ride. I sent the photos to BurBoy a month later. He said he forgot that we did this and was surprised that we look so happy in this seemingly mundane ride.
 
After the driver weaves through Bangkok’s permanently busy streets, we finally get to Platinum. I give BurBoy the money and we race to the mall. We meet my friend at the 6th floor of one of Platinum Malls’s two malls. We hug and my friend gives BurBoy a handshake, but BurBoy gives him a hug instead. We duck into the Thai restaurant that was just next to us, the Yum Saap restaurant:
 

 
We order the standard lunch, and then my friend and I catch up and gossip and make jokes and laugh. My friend would ask BurBoy questions once in a while and BurBoy would try his best to answer, but mostly it was just me and my friend catching up. We talk about boys of course, mostly about his (to him) boring single life. I encouraged him to get him some tonight at the last party night. It was nice seeing him again. I’ve known him as long as I’ve been going to LOS. 
 
We part ways after lunch, and make plans to check up on each other at the party tonight. BurBoy asks me how old my friend was. I tell him he was late-20s or early 30s. He said he found him a little bit cute. I pinch his cheek and laugh. BurBoy and I then start our shopping in earnest. We focus on the color White to get the perfect outfit for tonight. We notice some other gay boys shopping for their own White Party outfit as well, so we had competition. I notice this nice sexy tank top for BurBoy to wear. He takes off his top and tried it on. He looks really sexy in it. I pay the 200 baht for his tank top. In under 5 minutes we find something BurBoy can wear. I think anything will look good on him really.
 
It took us longer to find something for me. We scoured most of the floors in Platinum till I found a nice sleeveless shite shirt that doesn’t make me look hideous. I pay 150 baht for my sleeveless shirt . After that we find nice looking white short shorts for the both of us to wear to the party. It didn’t matter if we were wearing the same shorts. I pay 450 baht for the two shorts. BurBoy finds some sexy white briefs to go with his ensemble. 300 baht later, he goes away with two pair.
 
Our preparation for tonight party was not done. BurBoy said he needed a haircut. I got mine 6 days ago from that barber in Thaniya Plaza (has it already been 6 days ago? Time flies). I suggested we walk to Siam Paragon so he can get a nice salon-type haircut experience. He didn’t want me to spend all that money on his hair, so he decides for us to go to Big C for the haircut. We take the overpass to cross Ratchadamri Road and walk to the Big C Supermarket. We look at the mall directory and see some salons in the third and fourth floors. We settle on Hair Built:
 

 
It was only the two of us when we got there, but while BurBoy was getting his haircut, a gaggle of asian gay boys went in, needing some haircuts as well. I could only assume that they were also preparing for the White Party. Pretty soon the salon was in full capacity, with gay boys asking for the latest hairstyles. I do like how Bangkok turns gay in certain events like these. BurBoy gets his rinse and style after the cut, and he looked super handsome as always. I pay the 250 baht.
 
Unsurprisingly, after a few hours of shopping and the haircut, we were hungry again. We swing by McDonalds (I know) and get some good ole Fried Chicken:
 

 
We take a cab back to the condo and lay out our shopping booty. We were set for the party. All we needed now is a disco nap to actually survive the party ahead. I suggest this to BurBoy and he says sure we can nap, but after having sex. He then takes off all his clothes and gets in the bed. He was not into the seduction today, but was horny to do the deed, so it was my duty to get horny with him. I lie down with him and slowly feel up his golden brown skin, well-defined abs, and already hard cock. Pretty soon I was super hard myself. That didn’t take long at all.
 
We kiss, caress, lots of body contact. He sucks me for a while, while he chuck wows. He was really horny. He goes through his things to get a condom and some lube packets. He wanted it right away. I put the condom and lube up. Without putting lube in his hole, I put it in while he was lying on his side, me fucking him while we spoon. He chuck wows while I fuck him. It doesn’t take him long before he cums while I still was fucking him. I didn’t take long either, and pretty soon I fill the condom.
 
We clean up. BurBoy notices that he came all over the bed. He takes one towel in the clean towel pile in the next room and tries to wipe away his mess. He does his best. I suggest we sleep in the other room with the still clean single bed, where I cuddled with MuscleBoy last night. I set the alarm for 7:30 PM and we get our disco nap.
 
We get up to the alarm and we both get ready for the party tonight. We shower together and then put on our new clothes for the night. BurBoy takes a long time styling his hair, probably still getting used to the new style he got from the salon earlier. After 30 minutes of getting ready and fussing about and admiring ourselves in the full length mirror in the living room, we finally get out of the condo. We were meeting anddy for dinner at CentralWorld at 9:30 PM so we had to get out of there.
 
BurBoy hails a taxi so we are not late. It doesn’t matter, there was a lot of traffic tonight:
 

 

 
We get to CentralWorld and I Line anddy saying we were here. We decide to meet close to the Food court on the 7th Floor. We both got lost in this giant mall, and I had to ask anddy on Line where to go. We finally make it and we all hug it out. We decide to the CentralWorld Food Hall for the variety:
 

 
This food hall had everything, from Thai and Asian food to Italian pastas and pizzas to basic Western fare. Right now, it was kind of odd though, half of the stalls were already closed, and the other half that were still open were slowly closing up. We tried to find stalls that were fully open, but those who were didn’t have everything in the menu. We decide to give up on the Food Hall and just find a regular restaurant. But at 9:30 PM everything started to close for the night. It took us a while to find one that was still open. anddy suggested we go eat at Black Canyon Coffee. I was surprised that they served dinner food, but I guess I was prejudiced by the “Coffee” in the restaurant name.
 
We sit down and order:
 

 

 
While we waited, I showed anddy some Myanmar trip photos, including some of BurBoy in his longyi. It was an epic trip, and the photos proved it. Our food comes and it was fine for fueling up for the party ahead:
 

 

 
After that satisfying meal, we head over to the party. Up next, the last night of the White Party…

Day 9.0: Bangkok Street Food as a Religious Experience
 
The stroke of midnight brought kisses and hugs. And then the party truly started with some banging beats from the DJ. BurBoy is dancing, happy, and taking a lot of photos and selfies and sending it over to friends. There were a lot of photos of him and me, him in his gorgeous shirtlessness, and me with… my hickey. He immediately sends me the ones that he liked the best on Line. 
 
But the busy few days have caught up to both of us. BurBoy had a long almost 14-hour bus ride from Myanmar to Bangkok today, and I was awake at 3:15 AM this morning after a busy and sexual night, and the two tour stops and flight back to Bangkok did not help things. At 12:30 AM both of us were fading, and pretty soon BurBoy was yawning. He whispers to me and says the magic words” “I am hungry.”
 
We go to anddy and tell him we are retiring for the night. anddy is a known party animal, so 12:30 AM is probably like afternoon for him LOL. We were lightweights compared to him. We get hugs, as well as hugs from Fresh Boys captain, and off we went. It wasn’t easy to get through the hundreds and hundreds of boys on the dance floor, so BurBoy takes me by the hand and pushes through the crowd with me in tow. Lots of sweat smeared, arms and hands on the way, dodging and weaving through the dancing boys, and we were out of the main hall and we walk on our way out:
 

 
As we exited we get out wrists marked with a reentry stamp, but we had no intention of coming back. We then make our way through the many escalators to get to the ground floor, and it was filled with gay boys leaving as well:
 

 
It was nice to see the mall empty and just filled with gay boys on the escalator. I wish gay malls were a thing.
 
We get to the ground floor exit and see that there were some straight couples trying to get in the mall. From what I can guess from the conversation, they were only letting people with tickets to the party back inside. I guess it really was a gay mall tonight.
 
We get to the big area in front of the mall, and see that it was full of New Year’s revelers still up even well after the stroke of midnight:
 

 
The streets were filled with people. Talking, laughing, walking. Lots of people still wearing black as well:
 

 
There were some food tents set up in the area in front of the mall. It was mostly from restaurants from inside the mall. We were super hungry and we almost got some McDonalds to quench our hunger:
 

 
But BurBoy was adamant in getting a good meal, so we peruse the other kiosks:
 

 
Nothing really stood out for us so we kept looking. We get to the end of the area of the mall, and admire this giant photo of the new King:
 

 
And then we see some really nice religious imagery, mostly Hindu, as we get out of the mall area. It was actually nice to see these on this night. I’ve always wondered about the crurious intersection of Buddhism and Hinduism in Thailand and Myanmar. Maybe I’ll ask BurBoy about this someday about what all this meant to him. BurBoy looks at the display and pays homage to some of them:
 

 

 

 
No luck on the food front yet. We walk on Ratchadamri Road and we did not need to take the overpass this time. It was closed to traffic and people were walking on the car-less street. It was nice seeing this road empty. Its usually pretty busy other times:
 

 
We see some restaurants on Ratchadamri Road, but when we try to get a table, we get turned away, saying that they are closed. We forget that it is almost 1 AM, so it is understandable. We make our way north, the way back to the condo, to see if we can find some food that we can be satisfied with buying and taking back to the room. We pass by this attractive couple going back to their motorbike. Couldn’t resist taking a photo, even if it doesn’t capture how cute they both were:
 

 
And then the street food carts get interesting. We see our first purchase, some sausage balls on a stick. 20 baht for two skewers worth of yummy pork:
 

 
Next to the sausage kiosk was one that had some interesting balls. There was an English translation and it said “Cheese Balls”, and I love cheese, so I had to have some. 39 baht for a small bag full:
 

 
We pass by Phetchaburi Road, which was the point that Ratchadamri Road turns into Ratchaprarop Road. And then we hit the motherlode. BurBoy loves spicy salad, so he finds this kiosk with a lot of chopped vegetables and spices:
 

 
He talks to the vendor and gets into a lively discussion with her. I recognize the language as Burmese, so as luck would have it he found a Burmese salad lady. He chooses the vegetables, noodles, meats, and spices he wanted for the salad. He then tells me that the lady was from Mon State, and she knew how to make the salad the way he likes it, and the way his Mom does it for him. I love that he found a little piece of home on the streets of Bangkok. We paid 90 baht for the salad.
 
The kiosk next to Burmese salad lady had a few rice dishes, so I pick a fish cake entrée (I remembered the I loved the fish cakes in Yangon),and some chicken dish, and BurBoy gets a big order of rice for the whole dinner. 85 baht for the rice and two entrees from this vendor:
 

 
One of the vendors asks me something in Thai. BurBoy rescues me and answers. The vendor puts in some plastic forks and spoons, and some paper plates, in our bag of food.  We leave with some yummy food.
 
While walking north we pass by some local people who were having drinks celebrating the New Year. There was some drunk singing, some drunk dancing, and a lot of New Year's joy. It was clear people were having fun on the streets of Bangkok. BurBoy motions me to move on. He was eager to try the food.
 
We hit Chaturathit Road and we see this very interesting kiosk:
 

 
BurBoy talks to the cook and he found what he was looking for: Tom Yum. We both love Tom Yum and I especially love how spicy some can get. The cook expertly cleans up some of his pots and directs (what I would assume) his wife to ready some of the vegetables for Tom Yum. He asks BurBoy to choose the seafood he wants with the Tom Yum, so we get directed to this pile of seafood and meats, mixed with ice to keep it fresh:
 

 
BurBoy points to what he likes and the cook grabs his choices and starts cooking:
 

 
As we wait for our delicious Tom Yum, I notice that the kiosk was so close to the road:
 

 
There is something about Thai street food and its presence close to the road and cars exhaust and the general elements. There is nothing quite like it in the world. Its one of my favorite things to do while on holiday here, and BurBoy is game to encourage this habit of mine.
 
After 10 minutes we get our 160 baht Tom Yum. We get to the condo and start staging the food for eating. It takes us almost an hour from leaving the party to our condo, but it was a journey through Street Food heaven. I was glad we were able to get this food, because it was all delicious. The photo does not do the flavors justice, but here it is:
 

 
BurBoy’s Burmese salad, which was out of this world yummy:
 

 
We gladly dig into our 394 baht (~$12) dinner. The food was delicious, the conversation was lively, and the company was just… perfect. 

Day 8.9: New Year, Old Me, Same Same BurBoy
 
He grabs me and pulls me close to get a good look at the hickey. He rubs on it and looks at me. “Who did na?” he asks. I tell him the truth: “I find a boy from Hornet in Mandalay.” He looks at me, almost not believing me. “Sure na? You get Hornet? No boy bar Twilight?” I take him by the waist and say “Yes I am sure. You want to see my Hornet?” “No I OK. But you shower na. Shower together na.” “Why together? You finish shower already.” “I want see if have other,” pointing to the hickey. An inspection!
 
I disrobe and head over to the shower. He is handling this better than I thought. I turn on the shower and once the water is hot enough I get in. He gets in as well, and gets the soap for my usual soap down. As he soaps me up he looks at my chest area, back, and cock. He doesn’t find anything else. He smiles at me and kisses me. “You have sex many na.” I nod, flashing my best charming and sheepish smile. I rinse and then step out of the shower to dry up. He does as well, but still looking at the hickey. “Hmmm. I think no good na. People say I give you big kiss na.” pointing at his neck where my hickey would be.
 
So he was more worried about people seeing the hickey on me and thinking he gave it to me. Not the fact that I had sex with another guy. I finish drying and hold him close and kiss him deeply. I tell him to not worry about what other people think. I tell him the only thing that matters is what happens between the two of us. He asks me “Why you cannot wait for me have sex?” I say “I can have sex everyday ok.” He thinks about it then says “OK, after party have sex na OK?” I kiss him deeply and tell him “We can have sex now.” “No now, after na. Now I want go party.”
 
The one thing you guys have to know about our relationship is that when we are together we are inseparable. It is not normal do be apart if we were in the same country. But when we are apart, we rarely talk about our activities, other than work, and his English classes (more on that later), or the occasional going out with friends, when I get a selfie of him with friends and bottles of whiskey in a Thai bar, or me in my American bar with my drink in front of boy strippers. So not telling him about this tryst last night when it happened, or asking for permission, is not our thing.
 
So I wasn’t surprised that he wanted to come to the party, even if he was tired. We get energy from each other, and just the sight of the other guy gets the either of us going. He takes my hand and leads me to his suitcase. “What I wear for party?” I open his suitcase and we go through his things. I choose a nice muscle tee and tight shorts. He puts on tiny underwear and starts putting on clothes. I put on something as well. I arrange my money for drinks and food, and take out credit cards and such. I send MuscleBoy a quick Line, apologizing that i will not be able to off him tonight, and I hope he gets a customer.
 
When I booked the AirBNB condo, I thought that it was decent walking distance to CentralWorld, the venue for the White Party. But Google Mapping it and assessing the walking distance, it looks like it will take us about 20 minutes to get to CentralWorld. We can walk it for sure, but the combination of us being tired, it being close to 10, and we have anddy, GT forum member extraordinaire, waiting for us, we decide to take a taxi. I leave the taxi getting duties to BurBoy’s capable hands. He gets one right away and off we go.
 
There was considerable activity on Ratchadamri Rd on our way to the party. It was New Year’s Eve tonight, and we see a lot of people walking towards the direction of CentralWorld. I guess there was some sort of celebration or gathering at the mall. Pretty soon we hit a roadblock, and most of the surrounding roads along CentralWorld were closed for New Year’s Eve. BurBoy takes out some baht and pays the driver (60 baht for a 43 baht fare). We get off about a block from CentralWorld. We take the overpass to get to the mall.
 
There were some barricades around CentralWorld, and people were snaking through the barricades to get inside the mall. There were some security guards that were telling people where to go. I guess because of the expected crush of people, there had to be some order to get into the mall tonight. We patiently go behind the end of the line and we dodge and turn and duck and 15 minutes later we are finally inside the mall. I text anddy that we are finally inside. He tells me that he is already up at the venue, and he is finding some of his friends.
 
The party was at Muang Thai GMM Live House, which is on Level 8 at the enormous CentralWorld. This was the same venue of the Songkran parties. It takes us a lot of escalators to get to the venue, but pretty soon the general public that surrounded us on the lower floors, have progressively changed to a lot of gay boys. We knew we were close. We get to the main floor and I message anddy that we were here but we needed to get our tickets. I had a photo of my passport in my phone, and I took my California Driver’s License with me (I also use this at DJ Station). I readied the email confirmation of the ticket purchase. There was no line to get our tickets. The staff takes my phone to scan it. She then tells me that I didn’t go to the party yesterday. I was reminded that I bought the ticket for entry to all three night parties. I bought it 5 months ago when they had Super Early Bird prices, so what I paid for three parties is still less than the price of two parties if we bought them now.
 
I Line anddy and tell him we are going in. We get in the ticketed area and see anddy waiting for us. We both get hugs and I introduce anddy to BurBoy. anddy speaks to BurBoy in Thai, and BurBoy is surprised that anddy can speak the language. We catch up on the few days that had passed, and then we decide to inspect the activity outside the main dance hall before going inside. There were a lot of backdrops in the periphery, with hot boys posing in front of them. And a lot of boys having their photos taken with the hot boys.
 

 

 

 
We go inside and anddy says we are going join one of his friends who also came tonight. We enter the main dance hall and see that the party was well on its way at 11 PM:
 

 
We force our way through the throngs of (mostly) hot, shirtless, sexy Asian boys who were having the time of their lives:
 

 

 
anddy finds his friend. It was the Khmer guy who worked as a mamasan/captain at Fresh Boys, who we talked to a few nights ago after leaving X-Size. He was with some of his friends. We all get hugs, and BurBoy gets an extra hug, as the Khmer and him talk for a little bit in Thai. The music was hopping, the lights were flashy, and everyone was in a party mood this New Year’s Eve:
 

 
And there were hot boys everywhere, talking, dancing, and occasionally making out:
 

 
Some use the elevated platforms to good use, to see and be seen:
 

 
There was a huge LED display that had the time, hanging over the center of the hall, no doubt for the impending New Year’s countdown:
 

 
The stage was hopping as well, with the DJ playing the latest pop dance tunes. Everyone seem to know what was playing, and some were singing along, including BurBoy and myself:
 

 
Lots of sexy dancers onstage, to complement the sexy boys watching offstage:
 

 

 
anddy was successful in coaxing BurBoy to take off his shirt, to match all the boys there. As someone who was not at all modest indoors, BurBoy was kind of shy in public. I don’t know why he would be, he had an amazing body. We all dance to the beat. As his abs glistened in the dance floor lights, and as the time got closer to midnight, the boy crowd got thicker and thicker:
 

 
As the countdown grew close, I tell BurBoy that it was customary to kiss your loved one at the stroke of the New Year. The tradition of kissing someone you love as the bells tolled at 12 midnight supposedly sets the tone for the rest of the year. He thought for a bit, and then got his phone and types in a word. He shows me the English translation: luck. I smile and tell him, yes, kiss me and you will be lucky all year next year. He laughs and we continue dancing.
 
And the countdown begins. Someone onstage does the count, and we see the seconds tick away as 2016 winds down. At 12 midnight the confetti and smoke fall, and everyone screams and celebrate the New Year.
 

 

 
I turn to BurBoy and we kiss. If this kiss sets the tone for the rest of the year, I am one lucky guy.

Monday morning, hotel buffet...everything is the same but different.  I was away 4 days and the powers that be completely reorganized the placement of the various dishes, the coffee, the tea, and the toaster.  
 
With nothing on my agenda, I decide to explore...I wind up at Central World, had ice tea, did some shopping, and lunch at Greyhound, which was only passable (660 BHT).  Check my phone and find several messages from "K" and an update from Van who send me a photo of him working in the fields at his parents.
 
After exiting the BTS I walked along Silom and found myself again at Prime and again I took the 2 hour Thai massage to release my inner masochist.  
 
After going back to the hotel and spend some private time thinking of my parents as today would have been their 75 wedding anniversary.  i post a reminiscence on FB.  After some quiet time, I head out for dinner at Maxi's and to see what the evening brings.  I head to Family Mart so a few things, coming out as 'm going in is Dave, my off from last night.  He stops me and aks if I coming back to Fresh Boys and to off him.  I tell him I have other plans.  He is still cute, but not cute enough for another off.
 
As i round the corner to enter Soi Twilight, La, HotMale's man on the street. sees me and puts me (no resistance) in a chair at the bar.  I tell him, I'm on my way to eat, Noom hears me and finds a menu, I enjoy the give and take with boys, so I order.  I let the results pass...the food came from one of the carts and was delivered to the bar.
 
Ask La about the HotMale show, he (of course) recommends it but is honest and says tonight is quiet.  I translate this to mean it will be a short show as not too many customers.  I go up, the mamasan is back from a day off, usual treatment, usual seat.  
 
I notice two boys who take my interest, one is tall with a Chinese cast to his features, the other #4 is a coyote, the one will the mop of hair I saw last night.  Mamasan asks if I want to talk to him, I say, yes but after his rotation on sage ends, when it does, mamasan brings over the coyote who has taken over #4 's spot on stage.  Misunderstanding.  Once ocrrected, #4 joins me, his name is "T".  What is is with names this trip?  Cee, "K", and now "T".  Early on, I seemed to always select Vietnames boys, now it's the alphabet.  I also remember a prior report where I went out of my way to identify boys and forum members with code letters. Maybe this is payback.
 
T has no English and with the help of the mamasan and Google translate, I learn he's 19 (check ID) and fresh from Issan.  He is cuddly and his mane of hair - these two things combined with his youth bring to my mind a comparison with a young puppy.  He is eager to please and I'm willing to let him please me.
 
We adjourn to the hotel.  Stop at reception for ID drop off, up to room,  T showers and invites me to join him, he has a dancer's body, lithe, defined, we dry each other off, and adjourn to his task of pleasing me, which he does.  After I am finished, he chuck wows...it takes more than several minutes and he wants me to bite his nipples and chest to bring him off.  Which happens.  He then cuddles and falls asleep his head on my chest.
 
After a while, I wake him, he says he'll stay all night.  Not sure why, but I said it was best to leave.  I'm still trying to figure out why I decided to not have an overnight guest.  T takes a shower, gives me a kiss.  Leaves.  A few minutes later, he knocks on the door...how does he get to reception.  I tell him to take the elevator to the 4th floor.  Goodbye.  Another few minutes, another knock.  He can't get there, elevator doesn't work (!).  I dress, and we head out.  He stops at the service elevator and shows me it doesn't work.  I lead him further on to the hotel elevator, which he now remembers.  The expression on his face was one of surprised joy.  We get the ID and I take him down to Surawong.   I think to myself, that was fun, maybe a repeat tomorrow.
 
Tuesday.  Last day in Bangkok.  Repeat of yesterday, breakfast, Siam Paragon instead of Central World, massage at Prime for two hours.  Back at Hotel "K" video calls me from his home and e proceeds to introduce me to his parents who are also on the call (!).  DInner at Maxi's, meet up with DivineMadman where we share notes, joke with the bar boys.  He departs to prepare for his trip and I head up to HotMale to off "T".  Mamasan tells me it's T's night off and tries to interest me in another boy /boys.  Not interested.
 
It's now almost 11 and I'm scheduled to leave the hotel in 4 hours to catch my plane to Tokyo to connect with the flight to San Francisco.  Decide, no new boy.  T would have been o.k. as I know he's a good time but I don't want rush the last hours with  someone I don't already know.  
 
Go to bed...alarm at 3.  Shower, shave, check to make sure everything is packed.  Down to reception, room check, all is clear, hotel gets me a taxi.  Some negotiation, no meter, but says 400 THB ok.  I paid something close to that for a metered trip from the airport when I arrived.  
 
Quick trip, though at at first by a different route than I'm accustomed to.  At airport, ANA staff makes their bow to the passengers and I check my bags to San Francisco, security, and a really long line (it's 4am) for immigration.  Clear, go ANA lounge and create a breakfast, onto plane, fall asleep, Tokyo.  Get a shower and shave at the United Club, have a beer and some snacks - food not great in lounge but is better than what I will get on plane.
 
Board and learn that I have a center row (a 4 seater) to myself.  Wake up 2 hours outside of the Bay Area.  
 
Skip the breakfast offered and think about what the last two weeks has been like.  
Can't get my head around it...I think, well, Vinapu prods me to write a report..maybe that will make things understandable.  
 
And so ends this trip report with a hope for another visit.

Day 8.7: Playing with Fire #1: Covering All My Bases
 
Let’s take a step back a little bit. Because of my last minute booking of the balloon ride over Bagan, I had to sacrifice the first of three nights of the White Party in Bangkok. And because BurBoy did not have a passport, he could not make the flight with me, and instead opted for the bus to Bangkok, which takes almost a day. We were both going to be in Bangkok at the same day, but since I was taking a relatively quick flight from Mandalay, I will get to Bangkok hours before him.
 
Because of the length of the bus ride, BurBoy told me that he was not sure what time he was getting in Bangkok, but he was sure he won’t be in before 8 PM. And because of the arduousness of the journey in taking a bus/van all those hours, he also didn’t know if he would be up for going to the White Party that night we get to Bangkok. So I had to cover my bases. I had two successful offs a few nights ago in Bangkok: ShanBoy and MuscleBoy. Both 22, cute as hell, and were willing to go with me (for a fee of course). I’d rather go with BurBoy for obvious reasons (he is free, more caring, and he wanted to go), but won’t feel bad if I went with either the two other boys.
 
So while in Mandalay I was talking to both boys on Line when I could. Just a few hi’s and hello’s, due to ShanBoy’s very poor English, and MuscleBoy being busy. I’m sure either would be a good choice to go to White Party, but I thought MuscleBoy was slightly ahead of ShanBoy due to English skills. I tell MuscleBoy what time I thought I was going to be at the condo, as well as the address of the condo. So tonight, when I got dropped off at the condo, meeting the AirBNB host at the lobby, I also see MuscleBoy, sitting on one of the lobby couches, waiting for me.
 
It was almost 7 PM, and the host, myself, and MuscleBoy go up to the unit. The host welcomes us to a nice two-bedroom condo, with a nice TV and fully-furnished kitchen. She shows us the two bedrooms: one had a king-sized bed, and another a single bed. I booked this condo a month ago, when I thought I was going to invite two Pattaya boys with me to the White Party, instead of going with BurBoy, thus the extra bedroom. BurBoy was unsure he was going to be able to get back to Bangkok with me. I was covering my bases then. Now, I don’t mind the extra space.
 
The lady leaves the condo unit and both of us are alone at last. MuscleBoy asks where to leave my luggage and I tell him to just put it in the Master Bedroom, pointing to it. I go to the bathroom to pee and wash my hands. When I emerge, Muscleboy gets in the bathroom as well. I inspect the unit and appreciate all the nice amenities included in the unit. There was a huge TV with cable in the center of the room, and there was a comfortable couch to sit on while watching. There was a decent kitchen table and full stove top and oven and huge refrigerator with some bottled water. I take two bottles and give one to MuscleBoy, who takes it gratefully.
 
We sit on the couch and talk for a bit. He was wearing some nice fitting pants, a blue shirt open in the front, and a white and tight singlet underneath, revealing his huge pecs. As we sit, he puts his hand on my thigh and starts stroking it. We talk for a bit, about his day, his week of customers, my Myanmar trip, and plans for tonight. I tell him that I am waiting for word from BurBoy, my boyfriend, on what time he was arriving from Myanmar tonight, and if he was coming to the White Party with me. I told him I wasn’t sure if I was bringing him to the party with me, but I told him I will compensate him no matter what. He was sweet enough to come to the condo and keep me company while waiting for BurBoy, so that alone will warrant some payment.
 
As we hang out, MuscleBoy puts a finger on my neck, rubbing my hickey. I laugh and say that I got this in Myanmar. He smiles and says “you get good kiss.” I asked him if he wanted to eat. MuscleBoy says he ate before coming here so he was fine for now. I was feeling a little bit hungry myself so I suggested we go to 7-11 just a block from the condo. I get some food and more drinks for the condo. MuscleBoy gets a Meiji chocolate protein drink. He takes all the grocery bags and we get back to the condo.
 
And then my phone beeps telling me I had a Line message. It was BurBoy, telling me he was on the van that will take him back to Bangkok. I ask him to send me his location on Line. He does and it looks like he is about a little over an hour away from the condo. I panic a little bit. BurBoy was coming soon, and I was still with a boy! I type away and ask BurBoy if he wanted to go to White Party. He hesitated answering, before telling me he will decide when he gets to the condo, to see if he is too tired to go. I did not want to insist on a firm answer now. He might suspect that I had someone with me now. I send him the condo location through Line location so he knows where to fo.
 
MuscleBoy and I get back to the condo. I weigh my options. What am I going to do with MuscleBoy and BurBoy? I wanted to go to the White Party, and will go with BurBoy if he wants to, but I did tell BurBoy that I was going with anddy, the forum member I met a few days ago, so I was going no matter what. He did not have to know that I was going to use his ticket to get MuscleBoy in if he doesn't go with me. I eat some of the snacks when we sit down and MuscleBoy drinks his protein drink. 
 
We finish eating. I have to spend my hour wisely with MuscleBoy. I didn’t want to have sex now (surprisingly), but I wanted to see MuscleBoy’s magnificent body. So I suggest we hang out at the smaller bedroom and cuddle. I suggested he strip down to his underwear while we cuddle in bed. He asks if he should shower first. I tell him that won’t be necessary. We get to the bedroom and he takes off his clothes to reveal very sexy tight white Calvin Klein underwear. He lies in bed and invites me to come over. I get in and touch his muscular torso and abs. He said he just went to the gym before coming here. It showed. It was great.
 
The view from the window in this bedroom looked great as well:
 

 
I take this moment to discuss with him what was going to happen. I tell him that BurBoy was getting here in an hour. I did not know if he was going to come with me to the party. I wanted him to come with me if BurBoy just wanted to stay home. It was 8 PM and MuscleBoy thinks about it for a moment. He says that he will go to Jupiter and wait for my Line if I needed him. I told him I will compensate him for his time here with me now, and will pay the bar off fee and the balance of his long time fee if he comes with me to the White Party. I’ll make sure that I Line him before 10 PM so he can get another customer in Jupiter if he wanted to.
 
I then focus on the task at hand, admiring MuscleBoy. We talk some more. He seems way more relaxed now than our first time together. He confesses that he wishes that he had tonight off and instead spend some time with his friends on New Year’s Eve, but the bar will fine him if he doesn’t show, unless he pays the off fee first. I joke with him that if I off him tonight, he still wont be able to hang out with his friends and instead go to a gay dance party with hundreds of gay boys. He says he still prefers that, because he can dance and drink.
 
My hand finds its way to his penis, still really thick with a healthy amount of foreskin. I pull down his underwear and play with his cock a little bit. It grows hard beautifully. I look up to him and he smiles. I kiss him and he kisses me back. I do a little bit more exploration. Maybe I should’ve asked him to shower. Oh well it is too late now. We just cuddle in bed and talk some more.
 
I then get a beep in my phone. I look and forgot about the time! I see that BurBoy is asking me what the name of the condo building is. I type it in. He says he took a taxi from the bus station and will be there very soon. I hug MuscleBoy and then get off the bed. I ask him if I could take a photo of him in his underwear. He pulls up his briefs and puts his hands behind his head, showing me his armpits. I take some photos. He then makes me promise to not show it to anyone. I am a man of my word.
 
I tell him that BurBoy was coming to the condo pretty soon. He gets off the bed and starts putting back his clothes. The sight of him putting clothes back on made me almost cry. Someone who looks like him should be naked all the time. I tidy up the bed, and then look for any evidence of MuscleBoy in the bedroom. In the main room I tidy up as well, taking the protein drink bottle and my snacks in the trash. I see MuscleBoy finish getting ready and I reach for my wallet. I take out 1500 baht for the almost two hours he was here. I tell him I will give him more if we see each other later tonight. He takes the money without counting and wais in appreciation.
 
I take one last inspection of the unit before we both leave the unit and take the elevators. At the ground floor I leave the elevator first. The elevators were in the other end of the lobby from the entry doors, and were in a glass enclosure that required a key card to operate the doors to come in or get out. Before letting MuscleBoy out, I take a peek at the glass front doors of the building. I see BurBoy at the door, looking inside. I quickly grab MuscleBoy and tell him that Burboy is here! He quickly hides from sight and pushes the elevator button. He says he will take the elevator. I tell him I will take BurBoy up to the unit. I wait for MuscleBoy to get in the elevator, using the key card to operate the elevator, before getting out of the glass enclosure.
 
When the coast was clear, I get out to get Burboy. I take my phone and see Line messages from BurBoy, most probably telling me he has arrived. I run over to the front doors to let BurBoy in. He sees me and smiles. He then tells me about his bus ride: long and arduous. I ask him if he was tired. He tells me he was, a little bit, but he thinks he just needs to shower. I nervously operate the door to open it to get to the elevators, slightly worried that MuscleBoy was still there. He wasn’t. We get in the elevator and then to the unit. In the unit, I get BurBoy a water. He takes it and then says he will use the bathroom to do his business and to shower. He closes the bathroom door.
 
I quickly leave the unit and get back down to the lobby. Sure enough my instincts were right. I see MuscleBoy waiting by the elevators. He didn’t have a key card so he could not get out of the glass enclosure. I apologize profusely, and thank him again. I wave the key card to open the doors. He gives me his best boy smile and tells me to Line him soon. I tell him yes. He leaves, successfully this time. I get back up to the unit and hear water from the shower. After 5 minutes, BurBoy emerges, fully naked, abs and swinging cock and all. He gives me a kiss on the cheek. Crisis averted.
 
Maybe not averted. He sees the hickey on my neck and stares at it. He looks at me with a mixture of anger and incredulity.
 
Am I finally going to pay for all my boy craziness and dishonesty? Next…

Looking at my notes for this trip, I wrote this..."said goodbye to "K", some sleep, a gentle morning."  Wake, make some tea, journal the last two days (and nights), the interactions with "K" and acknowledging some powerful feelings that I thought were long gone from my experiences.
 
After a shower, pack up, double check that everything is accounted for, leave a tip for the housekeepers.  Down to breakfast where Kaye of the Poseidon seats me and takes my breakfast order.  It seems that in Jomtien/Pattaya Kaye and "K" have been my special supports.
 
As I wait for breakfast, two guys who are in the room below me (we pass on the stairs at least once a day) come in for breakfast and we share a table.  They weren't at the managers cocktail party last night so there's been no chance to talk other than to say hello on the stairs.  And, given that this is my serendipity trip, it's perfectly understandable that I discover they leave near me (in California 40 miles is "near").  They drive to Berkeley where I live to go to the theatre, so we share thoughts on what we've seen and they ask about restaurants in town.  I try to stay current on the comings and goings of the restaurants and food trucks in my food obsessed home town.
 
Time slips away, and it's almost 11.  My new neighbors are heading out to the airport, and I need to get to the tailors.  Which I do, shirts are ready. I try one on and it's a great fit.  I do realize that at this point, if it wasn't a good fit there's not too much I can do.
I return to the hotel, tell Kaye I'll have one bag for him to bring down, climb the 60 steps one last time, Kaye comes up and takes my suitcase down, I follow with my electronics bag and a smaller carry-all.
 
PT Taxi is again early, I say good bye to my California neighbors, who are waiting for their driver.  I tip Kaye and promise to return...hope I keep that promise...and I'm off.
 
Unlike the journey to Pattaya, the return to Bangkok is relatively quick and I'm at The Raya by 2.  Easy check-in.  This time I'm in a Standard room on the 6th floor.  Good size, comfortable.  I'll later learn it could use another light and the air conditioning likes to revert to cold at its convenience.  At check-in the clerk started by welcoming me back.  Computer is definitely working.  
 
Unpack clothes that I'll (maybe) need the next two and a half days and then repack the remainder.
 
At about 4pm, I head out to Prime for a two hour Thai massage (500 THB).
 
Note to self: Self, when having a Thai massage, especially a two hour work-over, make sure to use the toilet before.  There's sufficient pressure use in a Thai massage that having pressure in one's bladder is not an enhancement.
 
Other that as noted to self, it was an exceptional massage.  Between my grunts, I was able to let my thoughts roam over the past few days...nothing processed as a full thought, but there was a sense that my world was a bit more openly enhanced.
 
Went for a walk, saw on my phone that Divine Madman was proposing a meet up to which I agreed.  Decided to have a snack at Madrid, ordered the pizza, and observed that same women were still sitting around in their assigned sots, bar, cashier, kitchen, server inside and server outside.  There were two other customers, server outside seemed to be delivering pizzas along the soi as she keep leaving with pizzas and no one was dining outside
 
Back to the hotel, than over to HotMale Bar where DivineMadMan and I arrive at almost the same time.  Noom is all over me, I act as if I can't remember him, two other bar boys join us.  DivineMadman tells me that when PaulSF is in residence he is given Check bin #1.  We both hope the tradition will carry on when he arrives on Wednesday.  (DivineMadman PM's me that it did).
 
I fill him in on my time in Pattaya, he is negotiating with his friend about leaving with him on his visa run and will be going to X-Boys to negotiate if there are to be off fees as that's where his friend works. He asks if I'd like to join them and go to Maggie Choo's for the show.  I pass, I want to check out some clubs, maybe see if my Classic Boys dancer who I was eyeing last week is around.  Note:  I should have gone with DivineMadman.
 
Go upstairs to HotMale to say hello to the mamasan, who's not there -seems it's his night off, but I'm taken to the usual seat, order a drink, note there are maybe ten customers, see one guy who looks interesting (he has a full head of hair, I realize that is a miserable description, but his hair is grown out and I think of a mop), but he's with a customer.  Since there are few customers, the 9:30 show last about 12 minutes.  I take my leave.
 
I next stop in FreshBoys.  The mamasans are still if full Chinese dress coming out of the new year.  I order a 7-up which is delivered and spilled on my as it is set down.  Apologies interrupted by one mamsan sitting down and asking for a drink and then asking if I saw anyone I liked.  I said no to the drink and that I hadn't had time to check out the boys.  Very few customers, so a series of boys sit down on my let side in a rotation they only understood.  Mamasan is still on my right telling me about the boys.  
 
I'm not sure if I'm irritated or amused by all of this  Suspect is amusing for me to see how irritated I might get to be...at somepoint after having chased away four boys, Dave, a 19 year old from Cambodia, takes his rotation.  He is cute, nice body, kisses in the club, I but him a drink which sets up wails from a couple of the guys I'd sent away. (Over acting but amusing).
 
Mamsan tells me Dave is new, does everything (doesn't everyone until they get to the room?).  My resistance is worn down by Dave's smile, his kisses, my pants being still wet from the 7-Up, and wanting to get away from the mamasan.  If Dave hadn't been so cute, I'd have just bailed.  I didn't, I paid up (500 off, 800 for two drinks).  
 
Dave and I go to The Raya, stop at the desk where they take his ID and i double check it to makes sure he is 19.  He is.
 
Offer him a shower, he washes up but no shower, his clothes are off, underwear removed as he gets into the bed.  Very nice body, good abs, he's compact, maybe 5 and 1/2 feet tall. As, I thought, he does everything, ...but.  He kisses and sucks but not a bottom.  I'm not a bottom tonight, still tender there from "K".  We take advantage of what he will do and then he has a spectacular chuck wow.  I almost wanted to applaud.  Something about being 19, I guess.  We stick together for maybe 20 minutes and he gets up to go, offer the shower again, no. Pay him 2000 and take him to the desk for his ID.  Look at my watch it's 11:30.  Dave and I were together just about an hour.
 
I return to the room, take a shower, think about  FreshBoys and activities in the room.  Maybe I'm jaded but other  than having somewhat intimate contact with a really attractive 19 year old , I'd have had more fun at was less fun at Maggie Choo's.  Waled around, thought about Screwboys...but just retuned to the hotel, fought with the air conditioning and went to bed.

Day 8.5: Tale of Two Airports
 
Before we head over to Mandalay Airport I stop by the shops scattered in the periphery of the Jade Pagoda. I was always to snag some very nice Jade jewelry for my Mom, BF, BurBoy, and some siblings. Kaung asks if they were genuine jade and they said yes. Some of the cheaper ones are lower quality jade. I also found some cute jade figurines to put in my office and house. I was in a jade buying spree. We get back to the car and shove my newfound jade booty in my luggage.
 
I get in the car and looking at my watch realized that I had less than 2 hours left before my flight. I look at Google Maps and see that it will take us 21 minutes to get to the airport:
 

 
I hope we do not have any issues getting there. We get on the highway from the Jade Pagoda, but we were going the opposite direction to the airport. Since it was divided highway, we get on this “off-ramp” and get on the highway on the other side:
 

 
The off-ramp was just us plowing through some bushes and then getting on a rural road and u-turn it back to the other side of the highway. Not the most comfortable of u-turns but it got the job done.
 
On the way Kaung and I say our goodbyes. I thank him for the great time. He thanks me as well, and asks me to thank BurBoy for being a good companion. He asks me what I was doing in Bangkok with BurBoy. I tell him about the White Party. Well probably not all about the White Party, just that it was a dance party over 3 nights. I show him photos of the venue and everything. I try to hide my hickey while talking to him, but I know it’s as obvious as a flare shot up a starless night sky.
 
We get to Mandalay Airport at the estimated time:
 

 
I say thank you to the drivers and Kaung. I gave Kaung and the drivers a little bit extra as a tip.  They were very thankful as I got helped with my bags. Kaung talks to one of the airport employees and the employee takes my bag right away. I say one last good bye before they speed away. The employee and I get to the bag security check thing and he sets my luggage there. I was about to give him a tip because he helped me, but he made a waving gesture to say “no” and walked away. I just thought everyone deserved a tip today.
 
There was an hour left before I can make my scheduled flight, but going up to the counter to check-in my luggage, I am told that the flight is 45 minutes late. This is what happens when you travel on high season. And doubly so that it was New Year’s Eve today. No doubt a lot of revelers are making their way to Bangkok today to celebrate the New Year. Not only is Bangkok known as the "City of Angels" (Krung Thep), but it is also the city of partying.
 
Mandalay Airport, at least this terminal, was older than Terminal 1 at Yangon Airport, but it had the basic amenities, including clean toilets, that any decent airport in the world has. I always judge an airport by how often they clean their toilets are. Going through immigration here was a breeze, a feature I find comforting in Yangon, Siem Reap, and Phnom Penh airports, and comparing it to the disaster that is the Bangkok immigration lines.
 
My airline of choice today was AirAsia. I have used Bangkok Airways to and from Yangon, and the flight from Bangkok to Mandalay. But my return flight to Bangkok, I chose AirAsia because of the time of the flight. Because of the Jade Pagoda stopover, I wanted a late noon flight. This will allow me to still be in Bangkok before evening, in order to make it to the second night of the White Party. I had to skip the first night due to my desire to stay an extra night in Mandalay and to afford BurBoy a chance to visit his family, before he has to take the bus to Bangkok. AirAsia is always a cheaper option than Bangkok Airways, and I find the service to be the same (except for the passenger lounge). The only big difference is the airport: Bangkok Airways uses the newer and more spacious Suvarnabhumi, while AirAsia uses the older and more cramped Don Meaung.
 
I get to the main departure hall and see that there are some shops that I can go finish off my still healthy wad of Burmese Kyats. I counted my money and saw that I still had $80 worth of cash. Instead of converting these back to US Dollars or Thai Baht, which would no doubt incur a huge exchange penalty, I just thought of having a small lunch and buy a few trinkets to serve as souvenirs.
 
There were some pretty nice shops to choose from. I see this Myint Myint Khin (MMK) shop, which had a few candies on sale:
 

 
I found a few shops that sold fridge magnets, jewelry, and some “Longyi for Executives”. I also found this grotesque carton of Lucky Strike cigarettes, with a picture of what will happen if you smoke. I almost threw up my breakfast:
 

 
I quickly found some delicious pineapple cookies to counter that Lucky Strike image, but strangely enough, they were Thai cookies, so I don't buy them, because it was weird to buy something from Thailand, in Myanmar, especially if you're waiting for your flight to get you to Thailand:
 

 
I made a dent in my kyat wad, and now down to $15. I took out a few kyat bills to serve as souvenirs, and then headed over to the food section to hunt for food. I see this nice looking coffee shop, where I almost got my iced coffee:
 

 
But I found a nice restaurant where they served lunch items and the iced coffee I needed. I ordered that and a seafood fried rice with egg as a snack:
 

 
I stayed in the restaurant for an hour while I waited. My flight was delayed, and most of the passengers were waiting in the uncomfortable gate seating by our gate. I took my time to eat in my nice cushioned couch of the restaurant.
 
After the hour was up they call us to board. We quickly board the aircraft and since I bought one of those upgrades to AirAsia’s “Hot Seats”, as well as food and drink onboard, I was one of the first to board the aircraft. It takes us about 20 minutes to complete embarkation, and we take off without incident. After 15 minutes, the meals were served, and I found myself eating again. Their meal choice was more palatable than Bangkok Airways. I chose a Chicken Curry when I booked the flight:
 

 

 
Thai immigration forms were distributed, and with just over an hour in the air we start our descent into Don Meaung. First to board and first to leave, I race to the immigration counters, eager to start the last leg of my holiday: 9 nights in Bangkok. But I was soon stopped dead in my tracks by this sight:
 

 
It seems that everyone and their mother was trying to get into Bangkok this New Year’s Eve. It was a horrible scene. All the immigration counters were staffed to full capacity, and yet it was mayhem out there. There seem to be some lines neatly formed close to the counters, but as it snaked through the arrivals hall, the lines blurred and it was a free for all. It was awful.
 
I had to choose a line of course. How do I choose? I look and check the counters. Maybe choosing the officers who were younger would be the best. Maybe when you’re younger, you’re faster and less particular about what you look at in the forms? But that older guy in the center looked like he was letting everyone through at a fast clip, so maybe he is the guy to choose. But this one line by the far wall looked like they were served by two officers. Maybe I should go there. Decisions already! I choose one and stick to it.
 
It takes me an hour and a half to get to my officer. It takes him literally 20 seconds to look at and stamp my passport. I take the elevators down to baggage claim, and then through customs and then to the taxi line, and find this:
 

 
I’ve never seen the taxi line this busy before. The lines took the entire space from the exit to the far wall, and everyone looked like they were there forever, angry, looking hopeless, and resigned to their fate. Another freakin line. Everyone wanted to get in Bangkok tonight. I take matters into my own hands and fire up my Uber app. I know it is way more expensive to take Uber from the airport, but right now I didn't care. I look at my app and see there were some UberBLACK cars circling the area. I request for one and immediately a car accepts my ride:
 

 
I make my way out side to the curb to wait for my ride. What I see was a sharp looking Toyota SUV in a sleek black color. The car stops and the driver gets out and takes my luggage and I get in the back. Very clean and nice, with the right amount of aircon. The driver confirms the address of my AirBNB condo for me and off we go. He was fast, darting through the busy Bangkok streets, and was able to avoid traffic. Pretty soon we were at the condo building and we was allowed to go in the gate entrance. He stops at the entrance and helps me with my luggage. He thanks me and wishes me a Happy New Year. He leaves the condo:
 

 
The Uber flat rate for UberBLACK cars picking people up from the airport was 1000 baht. I looked at my app and see that I was only charged 378.37 baht for the whole ride:
 

 
But 5 minutes later I got an email from Uber, adjusting the fare to 1000 baht. I was OK with that. I got rescued from Don Meaung hell by a big black savior, so I’d say that was a good use of my money.
 
I go in the glass door entrance to the condo, and look for the lady host waiting for me with my keys to the condo unit. There was another person waiting for me, it was my prospective date for the White Party tonight. Remember when I told you that if BurBoy did not want to attend tonight’s party, that I was going to ask either X-Size’s ShanBoy or Jupiter’s MuscleBoy to accompany me? Well my choice was dutifully waiting for me, sitting on one of the couches.
 
Who was it? Next post…

"K" sent me a good night text just before I turned off the light and went to sleep.
 
When I woke iI shook my head a  bit to savor the memories of the previous night.
 
Then it was time for the "routine", breakfast, shower, beach time.  I was seated next to a couple from Australia/Britain/Thailand.  The husband mentioned Donald Trump and we were off to the conversational races.  No I could not explain him...then the wife, who was sitting next to me, and I had a good time sharing our world views.  
 
Wandered back after lunch to the hotel, after a shower and catching up on email and the news from home, I went back to the tailors to pick up my clothes...whoops pants ready but shirts aren't finished.  Tomorrow by noon.  Impossible, I leave for Bangkok at noon and need to pack the shirts.  Back and forth, agree on 11.
 
Take the pants to the hotel.  Try them on...they fit quite well.
 
It's now after 6 and the Poseidon management is hosting a cocktail party for its guests.  About ten are sitting around a table on the terrace, Kaye is serving red and white wine, there is a platter of snacks.  Only two others are English by birth speakers, rest find German to be the native tongue.  One is a Thai boy who is with one of the other guests.  Enjoyable hour and then some talking about the world, changes in the hotel business, the chef joins us and eats some of the snacks...I take this to be a good sign.
 
We adjourn the wine party, some of us go in to the dining room for dinner.  Again, meal is top notch.  I dined on a Dutch version of French onion soup, beef stroganoff, and creme brûlée, washed down with a red wine. 
 
After a visit to my room, I head back via baht bus to Boyztown...still want to see Cupidol and ToyBoys.  As I turn into the soi, it apparent that this is the night the New Year will be/is being celebrated.  Red is predominant color and Chinese clothing is worn by the staff in many of the bars.  As I'm marking the difference from last night, I'm grabbed in a hug from behind.  
 
It's "K", he was hoping (assumed) I'd be back...I probably knew I'd be to see him but didn't want to admit the possibility that he might not be there/already be with someone.  Not the case, clearly.  He grabs by hand and takes me over toward Panorama.  "K" instigates several minutes of a display of public affection that are captured by the camera phones of many tourists.
 
We retreat into Panorama, where "K" turns his charm to full blast and I begin to melt.  There is a full blown battle between two teams of Chinese dragon dancers.  Each dragon enters into each bar and collects some tribute and provides a blaze of color and activity.  "K" tells me there is no BBB parade tonight - it will be all dragons until show time.
 
We head into the head (naval term - look it up) where head is a distinct possibility, but jsut some shared intimacies happen.  Note, I really wanted to write we headed into the head for some head...I guess sort of did.
 
"K" takes a ton of selfies of the two of us, shows me photos of his family, his home, and some of Pattaya.  We agree to meet up after the show.  I'm taking a pass on the show, give  him the baht for his off fee - to keep the mamasans from booking him.  He heads into BBB for the show  and I checkout Toy Boys, maybe six good looking guys acting as customer bait in front, inside, it's a nice set up, comfortable seating arranged in a semi-circle/U shape around the stage, maybe fifteen boys on stage, all in white underwear.  No distinct type to the undies, maybe the boys supply their own.  One or two cuties, I have a drink and watch.
 
Walkover to Cupidol which is jammed and after looking in and feeling crushed by the crowd, I go to Oscars for an ice tea wand wait for "K".  He's not hungry so we head to Jomtien.  Folks, it's basically a repeat of last night but on a slower get to know you  better speed.  I can contemplate how beautifully and classically handsome he is.  "K" stays until sunup.  All morning, I'll be getting copies of the selfies of us that he took.  My serendipity has made for two special nights.  Nights that won't just disappear as part of some trying to remember what happened on a trip.
 
It's now Sunday, return to Bangkok...that will be in the next post.

Day 8.25: Throwing Jade
 
My alarm wakes me at 9 AM. My body still craved for more sleep, but it was time to wake up. I had to make my flight today, with Kaung and the drivers taking me to the airport. We were also going to stop by one more tourist place before saying goodbye to Myanmar, so I had to hurry and get prepared. The five and a half hours total sleep that I got tonight would be sufficient on most vacations, but right now, after a full day of travel, touring, and sexual exertion, not to mention the emotionally charged visit to the temple just 4 hours earlier, has given my body something to be tired about.
 
I get up to go to the bathroom and prepare. I turn the lights on and I look in the mirror. I see it staring at me: a hickey on my neck. The dark red skin blemish was coin-sized and obvious. There was no hiding it, it was there for the whole world to see. There was only one person who could have done this: TallBurGuy, the ultra-passionate tall drink of water from last night. We got so carried away by the passion, and this was the result. I try rubbing on it to see if it will go away (it never does). I turn on the shower and try to not think about it.
 
But of course the shower is a place for thinking, so my mind just goes through all sorts of things about this hickey. Oh my god, Kaung saw it this morning. He was accompanying me to a place of worship and I looked like a slut. Oh geez, what will BurBoy think? He will be furious! He will know that I had sex with another boy while he was away! My mind just comes up with all sorts of things. But there was no denying it. I have a hickey, it’s too much trouble hiding it, I enjoyed myself on the way to getting it, so I’ll just have to deal with the consequences.
 
In the shower I scrub myself clean, rubbing on the hickey area in a lame attempt to get rid of it. I get dressed for the airport and dash to the top floor restaurant at the hotel. The Bagan King Hotel in Mandalay has disappointed me, with their policy of not allowing unregistered guests to visit you in your room. I felt it was preposterous, but whatever, I need to do my due diligence next time. Let’s see if the breakfast will redeem this hotel for me.
 
I get up there and there were a few quests still having breakfast at 9:30. I get seated and I go to the buffet and see that they only have very few options on tap:
 

 
Paltry options for breakfast meats, some scrambled eggs, some bread and some muffins, and four kinds of juices. They didn’t even have rice or congee to give it some variety. I make the most of it, and I fill up for the journey ahead. I look around the room and notice that they had the Yoke the puppets hanging tight. I am assuming they also have dinner shows like in Bagan Thande:
 

 
Since it was on the 6th floor the restaurant at least had a good view of this part of the city. It looks more built up than Phnom Penh, but obviously less so than Yangon. I can see it is metropolitan enough for a 20-something professional like TallBurGuy, and I wouldn’t mind going back here to visit the city and the surrounding small towns, like the ancient capital Amarapura, as well as using it as a gateway to the northern states of Myanmar. The possibilities!
 

 
I finish my unsatisfying breakfast and head back to the room to finish packing. After 5 minutes I get a call on my room phone. It was Kaung, telling me that he was downstairs. He was 15 minutes early. He asked if he could come up to the room. That was kind of strange, but I say yes. In 2 minutes he was knocking on my door. He comes in and asks me if I had breakfast and had a nice sleep. I told him yes to both and told him he was a little bit early because I was still packing.
 
He said it was OK and said he will help me pack. He saw some of my souvenirs and clothes that was neatly piled on the side, and started putting them in my luggage. While he was doing that I looked around the room to see if there were any stragglers I have forgotten. After he successfully packs my luggage he looks around the room to check as well. He actually found one of my tour pamphlets and some dirty socks I forgot to pack. I finish packing with his help.
 
When we were done and I was checking my passport and backpack, Kaung asks if he could use the soap I used for the shower. I said yes, he could. He then promptly takes off his shirt, revealing a golden brown torso, and heads to the bathroom to wash away a stain that was in one of the sleeves, using the spent soap I used to shower earlier. I am sure he was not coming on to me, and was genuinely just trying to wash a stain off his shirt, but having a cute, shirtless, 19-year-old boy alone with you in a hotel room is a little bit awkward if the context was not sexual, at least for me.
 
He finished using the soap and puts his shirt back on. He takes my luggage and helps me down to reception. I check out and don’t have additional charges. I admire the Christmas Tree they still had up:
 

 
Kaung already at the car helping the drivers put my luggage in the back. I get in beside Kaung. As we speed away I take a photo of the cute bellhop. Another reason to go back, if not to spend a night in his hotel (never again), at least to say hi to him:
 

 
We still had one more stop before heading to the airport, the Jade Pagoda. Touted as the first, and only, pagoda in the world made entirely of jade, it’s a fairly new pagoda (finished in 2014). The whole site cost an excess of 10 million US dollars, so this was no joke. It takes us about 40 minutes to get from downtown Mandalay to the area, but once we get close we see a bunch of new construction. Kaung says that because of the pagoda, many have invested on building a mall and shops around the area, in anticipation of the mass of tourists and devotees to the Jade Pagoda:
 

 
The car parks and we get charged an entrance fee by a cute but distracted ticket seller:
 

 
Kaung goes with me and we enter the pagoda complex. And then we see it, the impressive Jade Pagoda. The Jade used were of varying purity, but the distinct jade color of the pagoda makes it one of the more unique pagoda I have ever seen:
 

 
Gold is so overrated.
 
I take a ton of photos, of course. The pagoda in various angles:
 

 

 
There are also some bits of jade rock outcrops tastefully used to decorate the pedestals:
 

 
There were four Jade and marble buddhas that are in temples in four sides of the pagoda. There is something about jade that makes these buddhas more unique than their traditional gold counterparts:
 

 

 

 

 
The grounds around are also tastefully decorated. The green motif is really working for it, in combination with the green plants:
 

 
Kaung and I tour the grounds, and pass by a park, a stage with another jade Buddha, this one standing:
 

 
And then we discover a nook that had women (and some men) flocked to apply Thanaka:
 

 
As my last primer for you guys on Myanmar culture, I would be remiss if I don’t talk about Thanaka, the yellowish-white cosmetic made from ground bark of thanaka wood. Some are sold as paste, but in its natural form it is sold as small logs, and you grind the log on “Kyauk pyin” or stone slabs, and wetting it lightly with water, is applied to the cheeks and forehead and nose in sometimes circular and attractive patterns. It is primarily used for sunscreen, but can also prevent acne and promote smooth skin. I have seen BurBoy use it while he Lined me during his one month in Myanmar. I bought him some Snail White sunscreen and he used that instead.
 
Some stock photos of boys wearing Thanaka:
 

 

 

 
As you can see, everyone was getting in the act. You can see small logs of thanaka, and some water, and the women grinding it one the big stone slab:
 

 
before applying it on their faces:
 

 
Kaung warns me that it is time to leave for the airport. I bid goodbye to my last Myanmar landmark. As we leave I take a photo of this big Myanmar family, proudly wearing their traditional Burmese garb, getting their photo taken in front of their newest landmark.
 

 
I get a tinge of sentimentality. It was New Year’s Eve, and I was apart from my friends and family. But in a few hours I will be reunited with BurBoy, hopefully still happy to see me, in a different country: Thailand, in different circumstances: the White Party and Silom, but hopefully with the same feelings of love and caring.
 
Next, Bangkok, and playing with fire…

DivineMadman , I am also very curious to learn how their relation will be at the end of the report .
 
If I am not wrong when BurBoy asked if Numazu has a BF , Numazu's answer was a political ' no ' and wrote us that he was not feeling very comfortable with his answer . Since then his feelings towards BurBoy seem to be deeper , stronger ... empathy wise now it is more difficult for Numazu to confess that he has a BF .
 
This is a first time in my life ... Every day I am reading a chapter of a real life story and I believe the author tries to do his best to describe his , his BF's and BurBoy feelings .
 
That is Numazu's life experience which is kindly shared with us ... in my opinion we should be expecting him to finalize his report before making any critics .     

Nice thoughts on a holiday Monday morning in California. The BF is still asleep, and naturally I am awake and sipping coffee. I only wanted this to be a short reply, but I am physically unable to keep anything short, so apologies for the looooong reply. Feel free to skip.
 
Thank you DivineMadman for the very thoughtful inquiry on the peculiar quandary that I find myself in. I like presenting a lot of detail in my Trip Reports because this is the only way I know how to write about such things. It’s both catharsis and a creative outlet for me. Interestingly enough, however many details are presented in here, I do not lay out the whole story, due to the limitations of the medium, and the interest of keeping my privacy. I reveal enough to make the story both coherent and relatable, but obviously a lot of other details have been left out, for a variety of reasons. Some of them may be personal, others because they are not relevant to the current day’s narrative, but most of them are because they are just normal, boring, life things.
 
The current quandary I am in is very complex, and not as cut-and-dry as I would like, and probably looks messy at first inspection. What you have just described is a fair assessment of the situation, as it has been laid out in the report. I do not write about BurBoy’s feelings as much, and that goes the same with my BF, who is the invisible presence that looms over everything I do in life, and that's my fault. It is clear that my BF and I do not have a “traditional” relationship (monogamy, among a myriad of other things, lacking), but it is perfect for us, and has worked for the almost 9 years we have been together. It fits our goals for what a long-term relationship should be, warts and all.
 
BurBoy is different. He is the exquisite creature that has outlasted all the seemingly silly boys that have tried to alter my reality. And there is a big reason for him lasting as long as he has: no asking for commitments, no demands to be my boyfriend, at least when I am not in Bangkok, and does not need my money outside of our holiday excursions. I think the problem lies in my deception when I am with him. He does not want me to have sex with other boys while I am with him. He is very possessive; therefore I have to manufacture alone time away from him in order to fuck other boys. Not good on my part, but that is where I am right now.
 
I hate talking about him like this, but it’s probably healthy for me if I do.  In my reality BurBoy is as much a boyfriend as is my American BF. The caring is there, the love is there, and there are lots of both. Total honesty is not, never has been, and probably never will be there till the very end. I am not fully honest with my BF as well, even with his access of my writings on here. BurBoy, similarly, chooses not to know about what I do when I am back here in America, and though we talk daily, constantly, even on video chat once in a while, he does not ask too much about what I do in America. I think it is equal parts him not being interested and also not wanting to know. It’s that reason why this relationship with BurBoy, like with the BF, has lasted as long as it has: it just works.
 
I wish I could write about the 16 months that BurBoy and I have known each other. Knowing the development of the relationship probably will give you guys more insight on why it has worked, even with constant deception. All that time together, and apart, has lead us to this point.  I have resisted this boyfriend thing with him for the longest time, for a lot of reasons of course, but the most of all, its because it is not a clean-cut “traditional” relationship. We both know there will be an end to this. There are no conversations about the future, or growing old together, or him moving to America or me moving to SE Asia. But there is a lot of love, support, and yes sex, in the meantime. Not a lot of honesty, and that is mostly my fault. Realistically, for all I know he has a side Farang (or I am the one on the side, who knows). I don’t care. Should I? Maybe. But that is not me.
 
ggobkk has said it best, that living is messy business. It starts out that way: childbirth is messy, and painful, and sometimes fatal. But we have to go though it anyway, in order to live, to move on, and to continue on breathing and creating and make mistakes all over again. This might be the biggest mistake I will ever do in my life. And I won’t have it any other way.

Day 8.0: That Time I Watched Someone Feed a Statue
 
Ask my BF or parents and they’ll tell you that I am a huge morning person. I get up earlier than most of the people I know, and I luxuriate in the quiet of the morning, meditating about what to do for the day, before anyone else cuts through the silence and disrupts my day. I like sipping my coffee, reading a book or some news, and just be alone with my thoughts the minutes I get to just be with myself and the morning.
 
But after just having an amazing (and lucky) time with my tall knight in shining motorbike the night before, I find myself struggling to wake up to the alarm. I went to bed last night at 1 AM, and now it is 3:15 AM, and I have to be up for my next tour stop. No matter how much of a morning person I am, having only two hours of sleep can’t be good for anyone. I force myself to get off the bed and walk around the room a bit to get the blood flowing to my limbs. I go to the bathroom and wash my face and brush my teeth, and brush my hair a little bit to look presentable.
 
I put on some pants, because I am about to visit a religious site, so I have got to show reverence somehow. I look at the temperature on my iPhone and decide that I should also bring a sweater. At 3:45 AM my hotel phone rings. It is Kaung, telling me that he is at the lobby waiting for me and to take my time if I am not ready yet. I take my phone and wallet and head down. Kaung was talking to the receptionist, and then sees me and escorts me to the car. Only one of the drivers made it this morning.
 
While in the car, Kaung asks me if I had a good night sleep. I told him no, I didn’t get to sleep much. I ask Kaung what this tour was about. I am going into this tour cold, not knowing what it was or what we were going to do. This tour was SiamRoad Ya’s idea, and he talked about this with Kaung. I had no idea what was going to happen, but it was sold to me as something to see at least once in my life. We drive for 15 minutes to our destination, the Mahamuni Buddha temple.
 
Kaung tells me what he knows about what was about to happen. Myanmar is obviously a fairly religiously devout country, and it has a lot of ceremonies that celebrate this faith. But what we were about to go to was a special event for a lot of people in Myanmar, and locals gather from all over mostly Northern and Central Myanmar to pay homage to this Buddha. It was the Buddha Teeth Brushing and Face Washing Ceremony, and as weird as that sounds, it was actually a fairly popular event.
 
We get closer to the temple and the driver tells Kaung something. Kaung tells me that we will be getting off here. As we walk over to the temple I was glad that I was wearing my sweater because it was kind of chilly. I see the temple from the distance:
 

 
We get close to the entrance and see that there were already quite a lot of people waiting to get in:
 

 
The revelers were probably 99.5% Burmese, with some sprinkling of farang tourists. Almost everyone was in nice and colorful local wear. I felt out of place with my tacky track pants and bright red sweater. Almost everyone was carrying some sort of tribute in his or her arms:
 

 
On the side, various vendors were selling tributes mainly consisting of food:
 

 
At 4:25 AM the gates were opened and people walk through the corridors, respectful, but with purpose. We pass by some shops that are closed at the moment:
 

 
We get to the main hall and people crowd in between the center arches:
 

 
Kaung tells me that most people wanted a good view of the front of the Buddha under the center arches of the temple, but there are views at the sides as well, which was a good enough view if one was not particular with which vantage point they see Buddha from. Since the center arches were getting really crowded, I suggested we head over to the one of the side gates. We get to the left gate and see that there were only a few people there. Kaung and I stand close to it while people around us gather:
 

 

 
Pretty soon one of the staff opens the gate. You can see the Buddha through the gate:
 

 
I decide to sit down cross-legged, like the rest of the locals, to be appropriate:
 

 
While we waited for the ceremony to start, I observe and admire the people gathering around me. Everyone was Burmese, wearing colorful clothing, and praying while they were sitting. Some were young (some good looking boys were around), some were old (a lot of grandmothers in the mix), but it was clear that most came from the far-flung Northern states, judging from their different style clothing from what I’ve seen in Yangon or Bagan. It is obvious that this place brings the whole country together in religious worship, and I am a mere spectator.
 
Soon the helper monks were installing a platform and stairs for the senior monk to use to have better access to the Buddha:
 

 
The formal ritual began with the senior monk getting up to the platform and covering the Buddha with a gold cloth:
 

 
The monk then takes an urn of cooked rice and “feeds” the Buddha. Of course the Buddha did not open its mouth and began chewing. Instead, the monk, in a rubbing motion, slathered the rice around the mouth and let the rice fall to the floor.
 

 
Then the face washing begins, with the monk wetting the face of the Buddha with water, and then washes the face with a cloth. The action is repeated, with a rhythmic and coordinated action:
 

 
The motion of the senior monk’s arms was very soothing to follow. The gold from the Buddha, the reflection and detail coming from the individual intricate designs in the walls and ceiling of the temple, the calm and gentle chants from the monks, everything made me oddly contemplative. I look around me and see the people hanging on every chant, every gesture of the monk’s arms, bowing and praying and meditating. This means a lot to them. I think about my own reasons for coming here. Was I here to just observe a ceremony as a tourist, reducing this sacred event to just a simple tourist trap?
 
Actually, this meant much more to me than just a run-of-the-mill stop. It was probably because I only had 2 hours of sleep, or because I was exhausted after my earthly exertions with a local boy last night, or maybe because I was about to leave this county I have grown to love. Whatever the reason was, I started to cry. I was openly weeping in front of strangers, a world away from me, not by current proximity, but by life circumstance.  This did not have any religious meaning for me, and yet a feeling of reverence and bliss washed over me, like nothing I have ever felt before. This ceremony did not mean anything to me, and yet it felt like this was what I was looking for all my life.
 
And this was a microcosm of everything I have experienced these past few days. I did not have any desire to go to Myanmar before this trip, and yet coming here felt like I needed this visit more than anything. I did not need another boyfriend, but getting to know BurBoy more has shown me what having one can, and should, feel like. I could not do anything else but surrender to the moment, the feeling. I did not think about past failures or future worries. This was happening now, and it was what I needed.
 
I gather myself. I try to not look at Kaung. I sit for another 10 minutes and wipe away the tears before telling him that we can leave. We pass by the central arches and see there were a lot of people still watching the ceremony:
 

 
We go outside and admired the architecture. There were two boys wearing matching sweaters:
 

 

 

 
As we exit, we pass by some shops that are now open, anticipating the crowds that will leave after the ceremony. Lots of nice looking breakfast food:
 

 

 
We head back to the hotel. I tell Kaung I will try to get some sleep, and to pick me up at 10 AM so we can head over to the airport at a reasonable time. I get to sleep right away. What an emotional couple of hours, days, week.
 
So my last few hours in Myanmar, including a nasty surprise, next…

Day 7.9: The Best Things in Life are Free
 
I was eager to satisfy my massage curiosity this trip. It already started with my outcall massage experience with Tao, which was very satisfying. So now, finding myself alone in Mandalay, I had the chance to check out one of the two massage parlors in the city.  The two in the city are reviewed in this link: https://www.travelgayasia.com/mandalay-gay-massage-spas/. Seems like Paradise had slightly better reviews, and since it was closer to my hotel, I thought I’d give it a try.
 
I have been checking out Grindr while resting for a little bit before heading out for the massage, and there was some very promising conversation with the boys on the gay app. I was very close to meeting with 3 boys that I had some steamy conversations with. One in particular caught my attention: a 28-year-old Burmese guy, tall for Burmese at 6 feet, and had perfect English, at least in what he was typing. He said he was having coffee in a nearby café close to my hotel, and he said he could drop by if I wanted. I was very tempted, but now was for massage.
 
It was close to 9 by the time I got out of my hotel. Google maps said that the spa was a 15-minute walk from the hotel. I pass by this sign, probably the best use of a Burmese pun I’ve ever heard while in Myanmar (Mingalaba is welcome in Burmese). It right up there with "Hello Deli" and "Sawadee Crab Shack":
 

 
I walked the deserted side roads of Mandalay. I was careful to avoid the main thoroughfares so I don’t get mowed down by motorists at night. I was in shorts and a t-shirt, even if it was slightly cool tonight. It was the perfect weather to just walk and experience the city at night. It was a quiet night, and reliably so: it was Myanmar after all.
 
After some death-defying crossing of the street action on my part, I get to a residential part of the city where Paradise Spa was. There was a group of guys drinking right across the street from the spa. How many men have they seen enter this place to take advantage of the services? I go in a two-story residential house. There wasn’t anyone at the front desk. I go in and wake up about 4 boys relaxing in the couches inside. They call on the receptionist and he appears and receives me at the front desk.
 
He invited me to sit down on a nice looking couch and he offered me some water to drink. I thanked him and got shown a menu of services they offered. It ranged from 30 minutes of straight-up massage (9000 kyat = $6.50), to more involved specialty massages starting at 15,000 kyat ($11) for an hour. I chose what looked like a combination 30 minute scrub and an hour massage at 18,000 kyat ($13). It wasn’t a lot of money so I just chose one that looked good.
 
I was then shown an iPad with photos of the boys. There was only about 8 boys shown, and there was 2 that were attractive to me. I chose the one that looked the most Burmese, since I was in Burma. He gets called and then goes up to me and he escorts me upstairs where the massage rooms are. We go in a somewhat run-down but large room with a dingy bed in the center, and a pillow at the head of the bed with a faded pillowcase. He asked, in horrible English, if I showered already. I said I did, so he went into the in-room bathroom and showered.
 
When he finished he was in a towel. Nice body, not too worked out but fit. He had classic Burmese looks, but he did not smile, and was all business-like. He asked me to strip and lie on the bed. I did and positioned my head on the pillow. He started with the scrub treatment, which was pretty pleasant, and I felt the exfoliation work. He did this for about 15 minutes and then he said he was done. He asked me to shower away the exfoliating beads and to prepare for the main massage. I get in the bathroom to shower. No hot water, the water heater didn’t work, so I shivered through the process. I tried my best to get all the beads out.
 
Emerging from the bathroom naked under the towel, the boy goes to me and used another towel to get all the beads out that were stuck in hard to reach places. He invites me to go back to the bed to continue the massage. I was expecting the lights to dim but he didn’t, and the harsh fluorescent lights were still on during the massage. The massage oil was applied, and what follows was a decent massage. I relaxed a bit, dozing off in some parts, slobbering on the pillow. I immediately thought, yikes how many guys have slobbered on this pillow. Gross! I try to put it out of my mind.
 
He asks me to turn around. I see his nice body, and the penis hiding in the skimpy briefs he was wearing. It was nice visuals, and the massage was decent, but he kept the briefs on. When it was time for the sensual part, it was… not inspiring. He did not take off his briefs. He started chuck-wowing me, but the harsh lighting, the gross bed, and the disinterested masseuse was not doing it for me. So it took him a while to get me off. I did, eventually, almost regrettably. This was not a sexy massage, more just the boy going through the motions. I dart to the bathroom to clean up the oil and cum.
 
I emerge and start putting on clothes. I reach for my money and gave the masseuse 18,000 kyat, which was the same as the cost of the massage itself. I went down the stairs and got out of there. I spent an hour and half there getting a decent massage, and not so decent ending. Maybe I had too high expectations. Maybe I should’ve picked the other cute guy who was actually smiling in his photo. From the look of the other boys there, it seemed that there were very cute boys there. If I were here longer I would try the other boys, just because it was dirt-cheap.
 
I get back to my hotel slightly regretting going to the spa. In lower spirits, I fire up Grindr, and see more messages from new boys and boys I have talked to earlier tonight. I waste some time typing away. And then I notice that cute 6-foot Burmese guy said hi again. He asked where I went, why I was offline for a while. I told him I had some dinner, but now was back in my hotel room. We talk for a while. He was interested on what I thought about Myanmar, and was glad I liked Yangon and Bagan.
 
Our talk turned into flirting soon after that. And then it went to the subject of what we were both into. We had the same likes: we loved kissing, passionate body contact, rimming and topping. Pretty soon we were exchanging steamy photos. He had a nice body, and had an even nicer uncut cock. I got hard, even if I just came half an hour ago. He asked me again: “Can you meet now?” I took a chance and said “Sure, can you come to my hotel?” I gave him my location using the Grindr location thing. He said he will be there in 10 minutes.
 
I tidy up my hotel room in preparation for company. I tidy up myself a bit and didn’t have to shower since I just did it in the spa. After 12 minutes he said he was parked outside the hotel. I go down and meet him outside on the sidewalk. Lets call him TallBurGuy.
 
He was still on his motorbike, and he disembarked, towering over me. He was cuter in person than he was in his photos, and he smiled and shook my hand. He tells me his name again, I had to ask him to repeat it. He had classic Burmese looks, maybe a little bit more Chinese than Burmese. I was ready to tear off his clothes right there. But right now, outside in the streets of Mandalay, we talked, and checked each other out. He spoke in perfect and clear English with a Burmese accent. It was clear there was a mutual attraction, and we were both eager to consummate this.
 
We go to the hotel and I nonchalantly go to the elevator to get up to my room. But the receptionist stops TallBurGuy, saying some words in Burmese. They get into a conversation, and the he told me that the hotel did not accept outside guests to get up to the room. I talk to the receptionist about it, and she was firm in not letting TallBurGuy in. I used all my charm, and then all my logic, but could not get her to budge. TallBurGuy could not believe it. A second disappointment tonight!
 
We go back out and talk about it. He said he could not believe this hotel. I told him I could understand why, probably because Myanmar was still conservative. He said it doesn’t matter. I was a paying customer, and he suspected I paid a lot of money to stay in the hotel. I told him how much I paid. He laughed and said I should get my money back.
 
It was nice talking to him like this, but we were still eager to have sex with each other. TallBurGuy finally says “OK, I will take you to my house.” I asked if he was sure. He said yes. He lived with other people in this big house but had a room for himself. I don’t even think about it and just get on the motorbike with him.
 
We speed through the streets of Mandalay. We get to a main intersection with traffic lights, and we speed though that. He was going fast, probably so horny and frustrated from being turned away at the hotel. We get to a residential area like where Paradise Spa was, and he parks next to a big house with high gates. There were no lights on that I can see, but it was 12 midnight so it was understandable. He leads me towards the back and then opens a gate, and then a few meters to a door. We go through a hallway and then he uses his keys to open the door to his room.
 
I walk in a room with some furniture and a bed on the floor. I could see some clothes hung and folded by the side, and a desk with some papers and books on them. He plays with the lights till he was satisfied with the ambiance. He made it a little bit romantic and dim. We both take off all our clothes and we lie down and made out. He grew right away, and I can feel his respectable cock grow in my hand. This was way hot.
 
He was a great kisser, very deep and lots of tongue. We touch, prod, and feel. I go down on his cock and put it in my mouth. The foreskin and the big cock head. I did this for a while before he put his attention on me. He licked my nipples, sucked on them with ferocity. He licked my neck and sucked and licked it for a while. We kissed, and then he went down and lifted up my legs to give me an amazing rim job. I cannot believe how good it felt. He went back up and kissed me, making me taste myself in his mouth. This was hot. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was passionate.
 
We were both tops, but he teased me with his cock head. He put the tip in my hole. He whispered he wasn’t going in, just to tease me. He dry humped me for a while. Pretty soon we couldn’t take it anymore. He lay down and he manhandled me to put me on his chest, with him jacking himself off while I jacked off, sitting on his chest, with my cock slapping his chin. I came, and he quickly put my cock in his mouth, taking it all in. I then felt his some of his hot cum hit my back as he came. We both smile. He gets a towel and we towel off.
 
We head back outside to talk. He was all smiling and chatty. I get back on his motorbike get a ride back to the hotel. It was 1 AM and the streets were deserted. He drove slowly, and we talked the whole way back. I got to know him more. He worked for an NGO, is college educated, and a Mandalay local. He loved his city, and could not think of anywhere else to live. I profess my love for his country, and tonight, my admiration of his passion. He asks if I went to Mandalay often. I regrettably say that I don’t. He tells me that if I find myself back here, to let him know so we can spend more time together.
 
As we get back to the hotel, I put my arms around him. He saved the night. As if I needed more reason to love this country, here comes this tall drink of water to add to the many things I got to know and love about this wonderful place. I get off his bike and we both wave goodbye to each other. He speeds away out of my life.
 
Tomorrow, the highlight of my Myanmar trip…

Day 7.7: Some Touring and a Massage
 
It’s one thing to climb up 777 steps to see a monastery. It’s another to do it barefoot most of the way. As with the temples, I appreciated the extra dimension touring barefoot gives me. I was ready to do more but I knew we had a long drive ahead of us. Looking at Google Maps, it looks like we are going the long way back because of where Mt. Popa was in relation to Bagan and Mandalay:
 

 
We get on some rural roads on our way to Mandalay. There were three times where we stopped to give tribute to these toll points. I offer to give money but Kaung said it is part of the cost of the car we rented. I doze off for a little bit and get woken up by the winding roads. Kaung asks me if I was hungry. I tell him I was a little bit. The cardio I got from walking up and down those stairs did give me an appetite.
 
Our halfway point was a village called Myingyan, and it had some nice storefronts and the usual selection of pagodas and religious imagery. Kaung asks me what I wanted to eat. I said anything that had rice dishes. He picks a Chinese Restaurant called “Cool Connection”, and at close to 2 PM, the place was empty:
 

 
Kaung explains to me that this place turns into a fairly popular bar at night, but at day time it is just a regular restaurant. We order, and I was craving some rice and some soft shell crab:
 

 

 
Kaung and I share the rice and he orders some chicken. The dishes included some nice chicken broth with vegetables. The drivers, having their own lunch allowance, looked for other choices in town, but came back to the restaurant and they ordered their own food. We all order Myanmar Beer, probably not a good choice of drink for the drivers, but I felt like splurging a little bit. We all finish and I pay for everyone’s food, not even thinking about it ($11 for everything). Kaung informs me that he will deduct from my payment the cost of the food for the drivers. They receive an allowance so it would be unfair to me if I paid for their food. I said “OK” but in my head I am thinking that I didn’t care if I get reimbursed my $5.50 or not.
 
There was still some two hours left in the drive, and I dozed off again as we made our way to Mandalay. I told Kaung that I wanted to get in alittle bit of shopping before retiring for the night. Nothing big, just some nice souvenirs for friends and family. He said that we can check our some of the shops at U Bein bridge, before we make our visit to the famed bridge. I doze off some more. I wake up and I find that we are in bigger roads now, a sign that we were close to Mandalay.
 
Kaung and the two drivers discuss a bit on where to exit to check out the shops and the bridge. We stop suddenly and we get off the highway through a very steep and makeshift “off ramp”. It was not really an official off ramp, just a depression on the side of the road where cars and motorbikes use to get on the highway, if they were impatient to look for the official off ramp. The car was not a off-road vehicle, but it sure handled like one when we drive on this steep and unpaved “off ramp”. I do love the third world and its lax road rules.
 
We get to U Bein bridge around 4 PM and I had time to do some nice shopping. There were a lot of tour buses and people at U Bein today:
 

 
I become serious with my shopping, and dart into the shops to find some cool things. The three Burmese boys: Kaung, and the two drivers, were tailing me, just making sure I was safe. I got some really cool items and made a dent on my Kyat supply, though I still had plenty since I made sure I got enough for the entire stay. When I was done the drivers offer to take my shopping bags to take back to the car.
 
We head over to U Bein bridge and get some nice photos of the bridge and the sunset. Sunsets here in Myanmar are extra special, it seems:
 

 

 
Kaung had some tidbits for me about U Bein. He was pretty knowledgeable, and it is truly nice to see a sunset on this 167 year old teakwood bridge. There were a lot of visitors this time, and it was maybe 90% locals in their local wear, and only few of us tourists. It was a nice way to end the day and the drive.
 
Of course, some boys for my boywatching series. People watching is as much a feature in my touring as is temple watching. Boywatching #6, U Bein Bridge edition:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
We get back to the car and head into Mandalay proper. We hit some traffic about 2 miles from the hotel, a sign that we are in the thick of the city. As we get closer to the city center, I see tall buildings and traffic lights. Mandalay seems like a proper Asian city. Kaung pulls out his phone to locate my hotel, the Bagan King Hotel, in central Mandalay.
 
We get to the hotel and the car parks right in front. The driver step out and helps with the bags, and Kaung and I head over to reception:
 

 
Kaung immediately says my name to the staff and they look for my reservation. I take out my passport and credit card and give it to them, and both were returned promptly. Kaung asks a few things to the staff and then informs me that they recommended to leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 3:30 AM for our next tour. I ask for a wake up call at 3 AM.
 
One of the cute staff helps me with my luggage. Kaung and I follow him to my room. At the room the guy shows me the various features of the room, like the lights, the shower, the safe and the bed. He was really cute, and he was looking at me with curiosity, but I did not have the balls to proposition him in front of Kaung. He finishes the orientation and I give him 500 kyat for tip. He thanks us and leaves us to the room.
 
I tell Kaung that I want to pay him now, for his services, and the car. He starts itemizing the the various items that I am paying for, and I look for a notepad to take notes. He tells me the cost of his tour (found in his website), and the cost of the car ($100 a day, except for tomorrow where it was $60 because it was only half a day). It was what I expected, and I give him some kyat for his payment, but gave him dollars for the car payment. I thought the cost was fair considering the quality of the service rendered, and all involved were very attentive to my and BurBoy’s needs. It’s been an amazing few days, and it was not over yet. He takes the money and tells me that he will see me bright and early tomorrow. He leaves my hotel room.
 
I relied on Tripadvisor to vet my Myanmar hotel choices. The Bagan King Hotel was a good choice in my opinion for a number of things :1) It was the #3 in the top hotels in Mandalay, and the top 2 were budget value choices 2) they had a decent breakfast buffet, from what I can figure out online, and 3) it was walkable to a gay massage place or two from the map. I didn’t know if I was going to be alone or not in Mandalay, so just in case, I wanted the massage places to be somewhat accessible.
 
My room, very tasteful décor and the bed was pretty comfortable:
 

 

 

 
Now that I am by myself I open up Grindr. Lots of cute boys online now, but I notice half of the profiles are fake. I can tell because some of the photos were of boys who have a huge social media presence and were very popular on Facebook, they were either Thai or Viet (a beauty ideal for the Burmese, probably), so I don’t think those boys will be in Mandalay. It’s the scourge of social media and using apps. You don’t know if you are getting cat fished or not:
 

 
I talk to some boys who I thought were real. I also get some proactive messages, from locals who did not have a face pic on their profile, but they were open to send some once they assessed that I was real and just a tourist. They were still very careful with whom they talk to. They have to be discreet.
 
But right now, even with some promising conversations online, I had one thing in my mind: to get a gay massage. There were two in the Mandalay area, Lime Spa and Paradise Spa.  Both fairly walkable to my hotel, but one was closer. So I take a shower, wear some fresh and clean clothes, and start walking to my first massage experience in Myanmar.
 
Was it good? Next post…